29: Moving Forward
by cali-chan
Summary: AU. Edward Elric has to become the best track runner there is, for his mother, for his brother, and for everyone else in his life. But will triumph come at a high cost? CHAPTER 7 ADDED 10.13.05: Not quite the Five Stages.
1. Chapter 1: Not nearly enough

**Moving Forward**

**author:** carla, aka cali-chan  
**rating:** PG-13, because of some swearing... Can't be helped, since there will be people calling Ed "short" once in a while. Rating might go up to R, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.  
**genre:** AU, romance, a bit drama, really cheap humor ;;;  
**canon:** manga ONLY!  
**pairings:** EdxWin, RoyxAi. Hughes will definitely be gushing about his wife a lot...  
**summary:** AU, chaptered, high-school themed, but not your usual sweet-valley high school fanfic. Edward Elric has to become the best track runner there is, for his mother, for his brother, and for everyone else in his life. But will triumph come at a high cost?

* * *

Chapter 1: Not nearly enough 

Winry Rockbell sighed, loosening her uniform's tie as she looked down at the track. Then she pulled her earrings out of her pocket, carefully putting them on, trying not to look down at the track. "He's trying too hard. Again."

The boy that was sitting beside her looked up from the stopwatch he had in his hand. "That's Brother for you," he said, smiling a little.

Winry frowned at Alphonse. "Yeah. Pigheaded shrimp," she muttered. "It's getting late, and if he goes on he's gonna hurt himself!"

Al chuckled. "Winry-chan, we do this every night, I can't believe you still complain about it..."

"Well, if he's being stubborn, I can be, too," the girl replied. Just a second after she finished the sentence, the boy that was running down at the track crossed the finish line. Al stopped the watch and they picked their things up to go and meet him. "Do you need help?" Winry asked him, noticing that it was taking some time for him to get up.

"No, I'm good, thank you," he answered her, finally putting his backpack on. He took a breath and stood up, making sure to put most of the weight on his walking crutch. Winry stepped up to grab him by the arm, even if he had told her not to. Together, they made it down the stands, and to the runner.

He gasped for breath and passed a hand through his bangs, that were sticking to his forehead because of the sweat. "So?" he asked them as soon as they were within hearing range.

"Mm-mm. Leg up, I need to check it before we say anything," Winry interrupted him, in a bossy tone.

He rolled his eyes but complied, muttering something about health freaks and their never knowing when not to butt in other people's business. He looked up at his little brother, though, as Winry examined his knee. "How was it, then?"

"One second less than your record, Brother," the young caramel-colored boy explained to him. "And still a good three seconds below my best."

"Stop twitching so much, Ed," Winry warned him, as Al handed him a towel to dry off. He swore under his breath. He'd been practicing like crazy and he wasn't getting any better...

"Exhaustion never helped anyone get better," Winry chastised him, finally giving his leg a positive diagnosis. "Well, there is a bit of swelling, but it doesn't seem like it's going to bruise today."

"It's not gonna break everytime I walk, you know," Edward snapped at her, with a frown.

"Yeah, but you weren't exactly walking! You have to give it a rest or you won't be able to run again!" she exclaimed, knowing full well that it was a sensitive topic for the two brothers, but wanting both of them to know the consequences of their actions. "You aren't made of metal, Ed. One of these days, your leg's simply going to give out."

_Like mine_, Al thought, and he knew his brother was thinking the same thing. But that only spurred him on. Winry had said so herself, his older brother was just too stubborn. "No, it won't, not until I surpass Al's record. I have to keep on practicing. In fact, I'm gonna go again--"

"No, you're not, Edward Elric!" Winry pulled him by the sleeve of his t-shirt before he could run off to the start line again. "Granny called me a while ago. She said she's had dinner ready since an hour ago, and if we don't go back home right now, we'll have to go by without eating."

"Ah, Brother--"

"And of course you cannot do that, you need to eat, after all you're growing boys!" an amused voice boomed from behind them. The three turned to see their Student Advisor walking towards them. "Or at least Al is..."

The ticking Edward Elric time bomb suddenly exploded. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT HE NEEDS TO BE SEEN WITH A MICROSCOPE!" he yelled at the older man, not minding that he was a member of the school staff and therefore was supposed to be respected.

"Mr. Hughes!" Winry smiled at him, still holding a fuming Ed by the sleeve. "How are you?"

"I'm doing good, thank you," he smiled back at her. "Elysia's been asking about you, you know," he continued, his eyes going all googly as they did whenever he spoke about his family.

"I'll try to visit her this weekend," Winry replied, sweatdropping.

"Good, good. Winry, those piercings..." he went back to his normal, tranquil expression.

She sweatdropped even more. What a drastic change of topic! "It's after school hours, sir. I'm allowed to wear whatever I want at this hour."

"Yes, you're right. Now, about Elysia..." he whipped what seemed like a ton of pictures from his pocket (_How did that huge pile fit in there?_, Al wondered), and shoved them in the faces of the three teenagers. "Have I told you how much she has grown recently?" The googly-eyed face was back with a vengeance.

Now Al was sweatdropping, too. "That's great, Mr. Hughes... and... what are you doing still here, it's late?" he managed to let out, trying not to be asphixiated by the avalanche of photographic paper. _And how can he be so obsessed with his family if he's a workaholic?_, he wondered further.

Ed twitched, face full of papercuts. "Was there a point to this conversation?" he roared, now itching to go home, for some reason.

Mr. Hughes went back to normal again, not without taking back all the pictures and putting them back in his pants' pocket (_Was it like the same principle of a black hole?_, Al continued his wonderings). "Ah, yes. I came to tell you, Edward, that I recently talked to a friend of mine from back in college. He's a sports talent scout. He specializes in track running and other such sports. He's working on putting together this county's track team for the World All-Sports Championship. I told him about you and he seemed interested in coming to Leizenburg to see you perform."

All three teens gasped. "Wow. The World All-Sports Championship! Brother, this could be it!" Al wanted to jump in joy. But he couldn't for obvious reasons.

Ed took a look at his brother's walking stick, and then looked back at the Student Counselor. "When would he come?"

Mr. Hughes laughed out loud. "Oh, I don't know. He didn't give me a date. And of course, you never know with Roy Mustang... he just pops out of nowhere at the most unexpected times..."

Edward frowned and both Al and Winry looked at him, confused. "Thanks, Mr. Hughes. It was very nice of you to do this." Hughes smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "It was nothing, Edward. You are a brilliant runner, after all." He smiled at all three of them then, eyes shining. "I have to go now, my family is waiting for me. I'll see you all on Monday!" And with a wave, he turned and left towards the parking garage. The three teenagers turned towards their home as well, as they did every day.

When they were about halfway there, the silence got a little too heavy. "So what are you thinking, Brother?" Al asked his brother, wanting him to express a reaction to the news.

"Yeah, Ed, I thought you'd be happy about it," their blond-haired best friend added, wondering why Ed kept frowning. He was going to be discovered! Why wasn't he all excited about it?

"A brilliant runner..." Ed muttered, head bent down so his bangs covered his eyes. "No... not nearly. My record isn't going to get me anywhere near the Championship. I have to do better."

"I'm sure you will, Brother," Al assured him, not wanting him to feel anymore pressure. It was enough that he was pushing himself so hard because of the promise he'd made to him after the accident. He wanted Ed to do this because he wanted to, not because he felt obligated to.

Winry kept her comments to herself. She would support him in whatever he wanted to do. She just hoped he didn't hurt himself in his attempts.

* * *

author's notes-- so yeah, anything you don't understand will be explained later on. feel free to ask, though. i'll answer if i can. 


	2. Chapter 2: Not without looking back

**Moving Forward**

**author:** carla, aka cali-chan  
**rating:** PG-13, because of some swearing... Can't be helped, since there will be people calling Ed "short" once in a while. Rating might go up to R, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.  
**genre:** AU, romance, a bit drama, really cheap humor ;;;  
**canon:** manga ONLY!  
**pairings:** EdxWin, RoyxAi. Hughes will definitely be gushing about his wife a lot...  
**summary**: AU, chaptered, high-school themed, but not your usual sweet-valley high school fanfic. Edward Elric has to become the best track runner there is, for his mother, for his brother, and for everyone else in his life. But will triumph come at a high cost?

**in this chapter**: we learn the story of the elric brothers.

* * *

Chapter 2: Not without looking back 

"...And that's why you should join the military!" Second Liutenant Jean Havoc exclaimed, as a conclusion to his short speech. "Not only will you be a national hero, but we will also give you an introductory DVD and a wristwatch when you sign in!"

Ed snorted, leaning back in his chair and looking up to the ceiling. "National hero, oh yeah," he muttered under his breath, sarcastically. "That's why HE'S in a secondary school in the middle of nowhere giving teenagers a lame recruiting speech." Some of the students around him sniggered too.

"Edward, be quiet," Winry, who was sitting beside him, whispered. She had been paying attention to the speech and he kept making rude comments about the Second Liutenant.

As it was their last year of schooling, they'd been subject to at least seven of these "So what are you going to do with your life when you get out of here?" speeches. And it was only the end of April. The kids were growing a bit tired of them. They thought the speeches were a bit of a joke.

"And sure you'll be risking your life, but who cares, you've got a free wristwatch!" Ed continued on, as if he hadn't heard her.

Winry fumed. "E-do!" she glared at him, a threat in her tone. Oh, how she wished she could just pick up her biology book and clobber him with it.

"Is there a question in the back?" the voice of the Second Liutenant interrupted the argument. Both teens snapped their attention back to the front of the classroom, Ed with a somewhat shocked look and Winry with a deep blush.

Second Liutenant Havoc looked at both of them, and then smiled at Winry. "Anything you want to know, pretty lady?"

Winry smiled back at him, still blushing. "No, Second Liutenant. You've told me everything I needed to know, thank you."

Havoc nodded at her and again looked around the room. "Well, I'm glad. It's been a pleasure to come and talk to you and I hope to see some of you in our ranks next year!"

When the soldier's attention was away from them, Ed turned to Winry with his best "WTF!" expression. "...The hell--! You were flirting with that guy!" he roared at her, pointing with his finger.

Winry giggled a little. "Well, maybe. He's cute."

Ed couldn't believe his ears. "He's like FORTY!" He flailed his arms around. The people surrounding them only took it as another of their "lovers' quarrels," so they didn't think much of the argument.

Winry rolled her eyes. "He's NOT forty..."

She was interrupted by the sound of the bell ringing. Their teacher asked them to give a round of applause for Second Liutenant Havoc before declaring the class over.

"So, are you going to help me study for our Biology test?" Ed asked her. He wanted to get a good grade since it was their first test of the schoolyear, but sadly he was quite hopeless in the subject. Granny Pinako berated him time and time again for his Bio grades, wishing he could be half as good in it as he was in Chemistry, or in Physical Education. But alas, his grades were still rather low. Winry, on the other hand, being the daughter of two doctors and wishing to become one herself, had read and understood the Biology books they had back at home since even before she was out of primary school. So Ed was always pleading at her to help him.

Winry put her backpack on. "Yeah, we can go over the material tonight. I already have it summarized so it won't take too long, I guess." She hoped they finished before dark. Her Granny had been increasingly anxious lately about the two of them, or even her and Al being alone in a room after dark. Winry didn't see her point; the three of them had been living under the same roof since they were 11, after all...

"Is it ok if we stop somewhere in the way, though?" he asked her, as they left the classroom to look for Al. "I want to go see Mom."

Winry gasped. Usually Ed and Al would go visit their mother's grave once a month, the third Saturday. Just the two of them; it was something very private and she never liked to interfere in their family moments. The whole of the track team had to run this past Saturday, though, to update their records, so Ed couldn't go to the cemetery and Al didn't want to go without him. And as her Granny had strictly forbidden Ed from staying after school to practice, of course he was going to make the best possible use of his free time.

"Um... If you want, I can walk home by myself, it's okay..." she left the phrase open-ended, waiting to see how he'd reply. She really didn't want to intrude.

He just looked ahead as they neared the door to Al's classroom. "...No. It's okay, you can come. We won't be there long, anyway."

Soon Al joined them, chatting happily about the great grade he'd gotten on a test he'd been studing for a week for. They told him of the change in plans, and he agreed. He'd been feeling a little guilty about not going to visit their mother the past Saturday. So they stopped to buy flowers and then made their way to the cemetery.

They finally reached the site. Ed stared fixedly at the name in the tombstone: _Trisha Elric_. Al put the flowers down over the grave and very carefully knelt down, already starting to babble about everything that had happened to them in the past month. Winry respectfully stayed a few steps behind them. But Ed kept quiet, standing beside the grave, looking at the name in the tombstone.

Coming to visit their mother always brought back memories of the day she died... and the day of the accident.

Their mother had been sick for a long time, but they had never known, as they were just kids. They had never seen the signs... never suspected... Until that day she went into the kitchen to make breakfast and they found her ten minutes later, sprawled on the floor.

They had rushed her to the hospital. She had been under intensive care for the most part of a week. The boys, scared as they were, kept their hopes up. The doctors had told them that the probabilities of her getting better were high.

But when your reason for living has left you waiting for so long, it is very hard to hold on.

They had been there that day. She held both of their little hands, and looked into their watery eyes. _"My boys... I love you so much. I'm sorry I have to go..."_

_"Mom, don't talk like that! You're gonna be ok!"_ Al had cried, burying his face into their joined hands.

She had smiled at him. At them both. _"Promise me you'll both be the very best runners you can be... I know how much you love it... Your father would've been proud... He loved it so much, too."_

_"Don't talk about him now, Mom. Just try to feel better. You don't have to talk, you have to rest..."_ Ed had tried to reason with her, still hoping that if she stopped exerting her strenght, she could fight against the illness.

_"Ed... please take care of Al. You'll need each other now..."_ She closed her eyes and took a breath. Her last. _"I love you..."_

The burial ceremony had been within the next couple of days. Alphonse had cried for hours that day. Edward didn't cry; yet he took his mother's death the hardest. After their father left them, he had become by default the man of the house, and yet he could do nothing to save their mother. He didn't even see it coming. But he would not let her down; he would make sure her final wishes were fullfilled, no matter what the cost.

A couple of weeks after the burial, they had already moved into Pinako Rockbell's house. Their house had been sold by the State, and was already demolished. Ed liked to sit by the window and look at the land where it had stood. Al would cry himself to sleep at the same time.

One of those days, though, near midnight, Edward had turned to his little brother with a determined expression on his face. _"Get dressed, Al. We're going out."_

_"At this hour, Brother?"_ Al had wondered, but did as he was told anyway. He had always looked up to his brother. He was reckless like that, but if he said no, he was sure Brother would go anyway. And he couldn't let him go alone. _"Where are we going?"_

_"To the track,"_ Ed replied, lacing his trainers.

_"What for?"_

_"Because Mom wanted us to be the best,"_ he explained, his tone strong, as he walked to the door of their room. _"And we will be. So we need to practice. And we can't lose time like this."_

So they had sneaked out successfully and started made their way towards their school. They hadn't made it, though.

Edward could still remember the bright headlights as they came towards them...

They had been rushed to the hospital, too. Granny Pinako and Winry had heard the commotion and went out to investigate.

In the end, after surgery and much pain, they were left in pieces again. Ed had broken his left tibia, dislocated that same knee, and fractured his right arm; he hadn't been hit as hard, though. It would take some time, but he would heal. He would have to be careful with what he did with his appendages from now on, though. Al, on the other hand, had taken the heavy burnt of the hit. He sustained various injuries, but the graves of them was his right leg... it was so crushed, they'd almost had to amputate it. They'd managed to heal it enough, putting together the bone with four screws and complete immobilization. He'd only been able to move in a wheelchair for months. Later on, after an incredibly difficult season of therapy, he managed to walk again. But he'd have to use a walking stick for the rest of his life. And his running carreer was over.

Edward blamed himself. Al was the better of the two of them... and now he wouldn't be able to run again. All because he hadn't thought before acting.

Alphonse never blamed him, though. He was just happy to be alive.

When Ed saw the bright smile in his brother's face the first day he'd been able to walk again, he'd vowed to himself, yet again, that he'd be the best. For his mother, and now for his brother. No matter what the cost.

"...We should be going now, Mom. It's late and we have to study," Al finished, wiping away the silent tears that fell down his cheeks. Ed finally looked up from the tombstone, and taking his hand out of his pockets, walked towards Al to help him stand up. They turned to leave, noticing that Winry was wiping her tears, too. She smiled at them and moved to hold Al's left hand. He smiled gratefully at her. She didn't say anything, but they knew she was there for them.

They made it to their house, silent but for the sound of their footsteps. When they entered, Al went to his room to drop off his things, leaving Winry and Ed alone. Ed turned to her with a goofy smile.

"So, you're still going to help me with Biology, right? We can start after we eat something, I'm starving..."

He turned to go up the stairs to his room, but a sound from her stopped him mid-step. "Ed?"

He turned to see her. She was looking at him with the saddest expression on his face. A tear ran down her cheek. And she moved forward, wrapping her arms around his waist, burying her head in his neck.

He tensed up; didn't hug her back, just stood there. She understood. It was just the way he was. She knew it was hard... her own parents had died even before Trisha did, it had been years... but the pain never went away. She just hoped he would let himself be comforted. He didn't always have to be the strong one.

"Yeah... we'll study after we eat," she murmured against his neck. The feeling of her lips against his skin made him shiver, but he said nothing. She slowly disentangled herself from him and walked around him, up the stairs.

He saw her leave. Then closed the door behind him.

Unbeknownst to any of them, they were being watched from outside. "How sure can we be that he'll concentrate on running?" the man wondered aloud.

Second Liutenant Havoc sighed. "Was it necessary to follow them even to the graveyard, Sir?"

The same dark-haired man that had spoken before turned to Havoc. "Before even checking out his track record, I have to know his personality. Many potential medallists have failed in their projects because of personal issues, or because they are mutinous and cannot take orders. I will not risk it again." That definitely shut Havoc up.

He turned to the blond-haired woman that was standing beside him. "Make a note of this, Miss Hawkeye. We will have to keep an eye out on his issues about his mother. But have his address listed. Perhaps we will pay him a visit if we have an open slot."

"Yes, Sir," the woman replied, already jotting everything down into a Palm Pilot. "If you don't mind me asking, Mr. Mustang... do you really think this boy has potential?"

Roy Mutang frowned. "Hughes insists he's a good runner... Of course Hughes has no idea what a good runner is. But either way, it wouldn't hurt to check him out. Hopefully it won't be another waste of time."

Miss Hawkeye nodded at his reply, jotting even more notes into the hand-held computer. Second Liutenant Havoc just frowned and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it and bringing it to his mouth.

* * *

author's notes-- well, here you go. this chapter is longer than the first, but i can't promise you that they will all be long. i can't promise you i'll update as regularly, either. i'm an awfully slow writer... if you've read any of my other fanfics (non-hagaren), you'll know. this is only coming out as fast as it is because i'm strangely inspired. if my muse goes away one of these days, then this will definitely take some more time to complete. 

now, about the chapter itself.

first, second liutenant havoc is still in the military because i just can't picture him anywhere else. and before you can start accusing me of promoting pedophilia, he wasn't really flirting with winry. i think he's just naturally charming with women (even if he never gets a girlfriend, though -.-;;). the whole scene stemmed from the fact that i think that after hughes (who's TEH HOTT!), havoc is the cutest out of all the military guys. and i feel really sad about what happened to him in the last few chapters of the manga. so i had to include him here.

and second, there you have it: the story of the MF!elrics. hopefully it's to your liking. oh, the drama... i know nothing about medicine, so please forgive me if the decription of their injuries was completely wrong. that's what happened to an uncle of mine, but then again he was inside a car during the accident and he's much older than al...

if you want to know about the next chapter before it's up here, check out my livejournal: my username is girlsareweird. i might even post snippets of the next few chapters if i'm doing well with them...

please review!


	3. Chapter 3: Not until you're 30

**Moving Forward**

**author:** carla, aka cali-chan  
**rating:** PG-13, because of some swearing... Can't be helped, since there will be people calling Ed "short" once in a while. Rating might go up to R, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.  
**genre:** AU, romance, a bit drama, really cheap humor...  
**canon:** manga ONLY!  
**pairings:** EdoWin, RoyAi. Hughes will definitely be gushing about his wife a lot...  
**summary:** AU, chaptered, high-school themed, but not your usual sweet-valley high school fanfic. Edward Elric has to become the best track runner there is, for his mother, for his brother, and for everyone else in his life. But will triumph come at a high cost?

**in this chapter:** winry helps mr. hughes babysit elysia. yeah, i'm a sap at heart...

* * *

Chapter 3: Not until you're 30 

"I still don't get why you have to come to the school. It's a Saturday," Ed grumbled, as they made their way towards said building, one sunny May weekend. He still wasn't comfortable with their change of schedule, as now the track team was practicing all day during Saturdays. The change happened because many of the senior students complained that practicing during he week left them no time to study (and boy did they need to!). Ed wasn't happy with it, but he had to admit there was a bright side-- now he could practice more. Pinako-baasan had forbidden him from staying after school to practice anymore. But since Saturday wasn't a _schoolday_...

"Oh, he'll be here," Winry replied, rolling her eyes.

"But it's a _Saturday_," Ed reminded her for the eighth time. "He doesn't have to work on Saturdays."

Now Al joined in the eye-rolling, too. "He'll BE here," both Al and Winry snapped back at him. Ed raised his hands in the universal surrender sign.

"Besides, anyone would think you don't want me to be here, Edo," Winry shook her head at him.

Ed glared at her. "Of course I don't! You're always so loud, it's distracting. And then you're always nagging at me not to overexert my knee and shit..."

He was rudely interrupted when Winry's fist collided with his thick head. She glared daggers directly at his eyes. "When I get a boyfriend and ditch you, you'll miss me, Edward Elric."

Ed snorted, gently nursing the newest bump on his head. "As if that would happen! What guy would like an un-cute, tomboyish, health and machine freak..."

Al tried to stop her from pouncing on his older brother, but he'd much rather not end up a paraplegic, too. So he just sweatdropped and kept himself out of the conversation.

When they finally got to the school, they took their separate ways. The boys headed towards the track while Winry entered the building, looking for the Counselor's office. As she walked down the correct hallway, she heard voices talking.

"Roy, I assure you that he has a lot of potential. He IS the son of Hohenheim Elric, after all. He could be the next best thing."

Winry's ears perked up when she heard the name. They were talking about Edward! Carefully, she moved closer to the door to try and hear more.

"I wouldn't expect genetics to come into play, Maes, if the kid hasn't seen his father since he was six."

"Yes, but I'm telling you, he's really good. Look, I have to go out in a little while but they'll be practicing until late. Perhaps after I come back we can spare a minute and go down to the track to take a look."

There was silence for a couple of heartbeats. Then, "Perhaps. I'm not making any promises."

Winry figured he would've said more, but then the door started to open. Startled, she took a few steps back. Out came a blond, serious-looking woman, and she closed the door behind her. It was only when she'd made sure that it was properly locked, that she noticed Winry standing there. "Oh, hello. Are you waiting to talk to Mr. Hughes?" the woman asked her.

Winry stuttered a bit, still embarassed at being almost caught eavesdropping. "Uh, yes. Yes, but I can wait, don't worry."

The woman nodded at her. "Very well. It should not take too long."

The blond woman stood against the wall of Mr. Hughes' office, seemingly contemplative. She looked at Winry sometimes. It seemed the girl was finding the dirt specs on her Mary Janes very interesting. Finally, Winry spoke again: "Excuse me, Miss... is that... inside... Is that Roy Mustang, the track runners talent scout?"

The woman blinked at her, obviously not expecting the question. "Why... yes, he is. I'm his personal assistant, Liza Hawkeye. May I ask why you inquire about him?"

Winry flushed, a little embarassed, yet again. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy. It's just... that's my best friend he's talking about. Edward Elric?"

Miss Hawkeye's eyes flashed with recognition. Of course, the girl had been with the Elric brothers that day in the cemetery. "Yes. Mr. Hughes' protege. We've heard nothing but praise about him."

"Oh, and he deserves all of it!" Winry assured her, excitedly. "He's a great runner! Is Mr. Mustang going to give him a chance?"

Miss Hawkeye smiled at her excitement. "I don't know that yet. But I can tell you that he is very curious about him, even if he doesn't act like he is."

Winry clasped her hands in front of her, almost pleadingly. "Oh, you don't know how important running is for Ed. If he gets picked for the county's team it would be the greatest thing for him! I bet he'd even make the national team! He really wants to be the best, and he really puts his all into practice."

"If he really is as good as everyone says," Miss Hawkeye replied carefully, "I'm sure Mr. Mustang will recognize his talent."

Winry brought a hand up to her cheek and sighed. "I hope so." Miss Hawkeye smiled at her again. It was obvious that the girl cared very much about Mr. Elric's future.

Before they could say anything else, the door to Mr. Hughes' office opened again and they could hear the Advisor's voice. "You only say that, Roy you dog, because people don't recognize you in this godforsaken town and your ego is crushed!"

"Hah! More like I'm terribly bored," Mr. Mustang replied, moving half his body across the treshold. "There's nothing to do in this 'godforsaken town' as you called it, and I've been to enough governmental meetings to last a lifetime."

"It's because your name can't get you a date around here!" Mr. Hughes laughed and Mr. Mustang looked a bit peeved. So saying nothing but "I'll see you later," he walked out of the office and, barely sparing a glance for Winry, for he recognized her, turned to leave.

"Let's go, Miss Hawkeye."

"Yes, Sir." The woman smiled at Winry one last time, and started walking two steps behind her boss. Winry, keeping her eyes on their backs as they left, let out a hopeful sigh. Ed's future was in their hands. She hoped this visit would have a positive outcome.

She knocked on Mr. Hughes' door. She waited to receive the permission to enter, and then peeked in. As expected, she found Mr. Hughes talking on the phone. What she didn't expect was to see little Elysia sitting on the floor, doodling on a sheet of paper with her bright-colored crayons. The girl's eyes lit up when she saw Winry at the door. "Winry-Sis!" she exclaimed, and got up to go hug her. Winry hugged her back. Elysia pulled her inside to show her all the drawings she had finished in her daddy's office that day.

Mr. Hughes finally got off the phone (after much cooing and kissy sounds, Winry noticed. It must've been his wife he was talking to), and turned to look at the two girls. "Hello, Winry. Nice to see you could make it. So, are we ready to go?"

Winry looked up at him in surprise. "Aren't you going somewhere? I thought that's why I was going to babysit Elysia..."

"Well, not technically. I was going to stay here for a while, since Gracia is visiting her parents this weekend-- and isn't she the most amazing person ever for it?-- and take care of Elysia myself, but since she's missed you so much these last few weeks I thought maybe we could go out and have some fun. What do you say?" He said all of this very fast and since his face was alternating between the serious and the googly-eyed expressions, she wasn't sure that she'd understood half of it. So she nodded her head rather dumbly. "Great! So what did you have planned?"

"Uh... I was going to take her to the mall?"

Elysia expressed her agreement at Winry's plans and her father smiled at them both. "That's a great idea. The mall it is, then!"

They got there without much trouble. There was only one mall in town, Leizenburg being so small and all. Their first stop was the ice cream parlor, as per Elysia's request. Mr. Hughes, being the ever-doting father he was, didn't mind one bit that they hadn't had lunch and proceded to buy chocolate ice cream for his beloved daughter and her babysitter. Winry figured Mrs. Hughes would be pretty ticked if she found out her husband was feeding junk food to their daughter, but thought no more of it.

Over the ice cream, they discussed the evening's plans. Winry had wanted to come to the mall because she had to buy a present for Al, whose birthday was coming up soon, and she wanted Elysia to help her pick it out. The gift was from both her and Ed anyway; if she bought it herself he'd probably just grumble about her making a lousy choice-- but if she told him Elysia had chosen it, he wouldn't be such a jerk as to complain about it. Mr. Hughes agreed with her reasoning.

"Is the gift for the one that's your boyfriend, Winry-Sis?" Elysia asked her, completely out of the blue.

Winry turned as red as a tomato. She knew the question had been innocent, but she just wanted the ground to swallow her whole. Of course she'd be so unlucky that Elysia had to ask such a thing in front of her father, the _Student Advisor_... oh, she was so embarrassed...

"He-he's not my boyfriend!" she screeched, covering her heated face with her hands. "And no, Elysia. It's not Ed's birthday, it's Al's. Ed has the same birthday as you, remember?"

The little girl nodded. She did know Ed and Al, but she'd met them when she was very little and hadn't seen them much these last couple of years. So of course she got a little confused between them from time to time. She did know all about them from hearing Winry speak of them, of course, so she had come to her own conclusions in the best way that an almost-five-years-old can. "So you mean it's for the tall one?"

Winry nodded, trying her best to forget about the boyfriend comment. Mr. Hughes' laughed at his daughter's description of the two Elric boys. His laughter was short-lived, though, for then his daughter turned to him with an angelic glint in her eyes. "Papa, can I have a boyfriend?"

His expression changed so suddenly that Winry had to wonder if it hurt. First he seemed to choke on his own breathing; then he frowned heavily. A second later he cleared his throat and then he smiled down at his daughter. Winry could've sworn she saw a dangerous glint in his eyes; but no, it must've been the sunlight reflecting on his glasses. Yeah.

"Not until you're 30, sweetie."

Though... maybe Elysia should stay away from boys for a while, for her father's sanity. And they should probably keep Mr. Hughes' away from firearms, too...

So they walked around the mall one, two, and three times trying to look for something to buy for Al. They'd thought of everything-- from clothes, to new sneakers, to CDs, even going as low as gift certificates. None of these Elysia accepted; she seemed to have very high standards when it came to gift-giving. It made Winry feel a little guilty because she was counting every cent. She only made so much money from babysitting and even though Ed had money, it was technically Al's money, too, so she didn't want to buy something too expensive if it was going to come out of Al's own pocket anyway.

Elysia had been rather enthusiastic about some things, too: there was a book with a very colorful cover she'd liked. She didn't much know what the book was about, but she could read the title and the whole package just attracted her attention. Winry passed a few pages while Mr. Hughes gushed on and on about what a smart daughter he had, learning to read even before starting school. Winry didn't think Al would be much interested in the book, though. It was a rather intense novel, full of action and dangerous plots. And while Al would never outright tell someone that he didn't like their gift, for he was much too polite for that, she thought intense reading was more of an Ed thing.

Another thing the little girl had liked was a new racing videogame they'd seen over at a toy store. Apparently she had seen its ad on tv and it stated the game was "all the rage." Winry thought it was a great idea; Al did like videogames a lot. However, after asking the sales clerk she found out the game didn't come out until two weeks later and the waiting list was so long that even if they signed up to buy one now, they probably wouldn't get it before Al's birthday.

Feeling rather down, they walked towards the parking lot. Elysia had grown tired of walking so much, and so her father was carrying her on his shoulders now. Winry felt a little dejected. She had stopped at a jewelry store to buy a new earring, for one of hers was broken ("Can I get my ears pierced like Winry-Sis, Papa?"-- "Not until you're 30, honey."-- "How much time left do I have until I'm 30?"), but they just hadn't found anything for Al. She was beginning to think they'd have to (and she gulped at the word, for she knew Ed was going to kill her for it) _make_ something for him. And Ed and her _making_ something together was just a disaster waiting to happen.

"Papa! Look! Kitties and puppies!"

Winry broke out of her thoughts to look at what Elysia was pointing to. The little girl had an advantage in that she was sitting on her father's shoulders, yet Winry could see, barely, a bright-colored sign with the words "Animal Shelter." They rushed in and stayed there quite a while, looking at all the animals. Winry had almost forgotten about Al's gift, distracted as she was by a rather hyperactive Jack Russell Terrier, but was reminded of it when Elysia called out to her.

She turned to pay attention to the girl and found her kneeling in front of a cage. Winry asked her to stand up; she was going to get her pants dirty. The girl complied, of course, but instead of saying something, she just pointed towards the inside of the cage, rather wide-eyed. Winry turned to look, and gasped in surprise.

Inside was a little kitten, sitting in the middle of the cage and looking up at them with a rather curious expression. Its hair was somewhat longish, dark brown colored and seemed silky. The little animal didn't hold himself with a practiced poise; it was obvious it was not a purebred cat, after all this was an Animal Shelter, but at least it didn't seem malnourished or sick. It might've been a Burmese, or maybe a Chantilly. What drew Winry to it though, was its eyes: they were such a vibrant gold color.

Yes, the kitty would be right at home with the Elrics. Elysia had just found Al's perfect gift.

Feeling in much better spirits as they had all the arrangements done, they went back to the school, grateful for a day of fun and interesting twists of fate.

* * *

**author's notes!--**

what's with al and cats, anyway?

please forgive me if there are typos and stuff. it's a quarter to 4 am and it's a miracle i'm managing to even make sense. i will come back and edit later.

this chapter was pretty... pointless, i know. but i just can't work with drama inside me and the one from last chapter hadn't left me yet, so i decided to do something light. this chappie is a direct product of four things: 1) the scene in the manga when winry goes to the hughes' house and elysia opens the door yelling "PAPA!"-- omg it has to be the saddest thing i've EVER read. 2) "undo" by cool joke repeating over and over in my music list. 3) that funky FMA pairing generator thingy-- i clicked it once, and it told me to write a hughes/winry fic, PG to PG-13 and involving ice cream and some other things i forgot. since hughes is my favorite character i figured i could do something... along those lines. and 4) reading one too many RoyAi fics. don't ask, i don't know how reading RoyAi makes me write hughes+elysia+winry fluff. i'm weird like that.

for those who are wondering about the whole birthday thing, this is my poor attempt at figuring out the character's birthdays. based on the anime because the manga doesn't really pay much attention to those things. and i'm not all that great at math (some engineer i'm gonna be) so i could be screwing this up. please tell me if you find anything wrong. first, elysia was born on ed's birthday, right? that day it was snowing heavily, so ed must've been born in winter so i decided to make his birthday around december. now, i decided that al should be 18 months younger than ed, thus giving him a june birthday. so there's six months in the year where their ages are one digit apart (from june to december, when al's 16, ed would be 17 and such). winry, then, i put smack in the middle of the two boys, giving her a september birthday. from june to september, she's al's age, and then from september to december, she's ed's. i hope that's not too complicated, but i just like to write it down or else i'll forget about it in the future (which shouldn't happen since that would mean giving up some ideas for future chapters).

just as a little trivia thing: fräulein (that's the name of the cat-- yeah, it's female) is probably the only OC i will use in this fanfic. hah. that's pretty nifty, if i do say so myself.

and if you're still with me and i didn't bore you to death with this chapter, let me tell you that things will pick up in the next one. just so you can get somewhat excited, i'll tell you the title: "not against envy." ominous, isn't it?

**and thanks for your reviews, guys!** i'm glad you're liking it so far. i know AUs aren't your usual cup of tea, and i'm grateful to you for giving this one a chance. i'll try my hardest to give it the feel of the original series.


	4. Chapter 4: Not against Envy

**Moving Forward**

**author:** carla, aka cali-chan  
**rating:** PG-13, because of some swearing... Can't be helped, since there will be people calling Ed "short" once in a while. Rating might go up to R, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.  
**genre:** AU, romance, a bit drama, really cheap humor XD  
**canon:** manga ONLY!  
**pairings:** EdoWin, RoyAi. Hughes will definitely be gushing about his wife a lot...  
**summary:** AU, chaptered, high-school themed, but not your usual sweet-valley high school fanfic. Edward Elric has to become the best track runner there is, for his mother, for his brother, and for everyone else in his life. But will triumph come at a high cost?

**in this chapter:** Edward does not race against Envy... but there IS a lot of tension between them.

* * *

Chapter 3: Not against Envy 

"...So listen up! This practice session is very important! The regional competition is coming up and we need to figure out which of you will be there to represent Leizenburgh Secondary School. So you all have to do your very best today!"

Edward sweatdropped. It wasn't that he didn't like their Coach, really; on the contrary, he was a very nice person. He only wished that he wouldn't be so... intense. Like maybe someday managing to direct practice without taking off his shirt? And what's with the sparkles?

"...But I'm sure you will all be great!" Coach Armstrong said as he paced back and forth in front of the team. Both Ed and Al (who was present at every practice even if he couldn't run; he was sort of an honorary member of the track team) backed away from him, a little nervous. "After all, I have thought you the secrets to running that have been passed down the Armstrong family line for generations!" All of a sudden this bright light erupted from behind him and... ah, yes, the sparkles, there they were. "Oh, I'm so proud of all of you boys!"

"Ac-hem!"

"Oh, and girl, of course," he added, recognizing the presence of the one female member of their team. Without any more warning he went into an emotional rampage and grabbed onto the first person he could find-- which turned out to be a skinny fourth year kid-- and sparkled some more. The rest of the team simply took one step back.

Soon enough, though, they were getting ready to race. Al sat next to his brother, watching him warm up. Ed was muttering stuff under his breath as he stretched. "Are you nervous, Brother?"

Ed rose sharply and looked at him. He scratched his head a bit. "Not really. I just think I could've practiced more. I've got to talk to Granny Pinako about this no practicing deal..."

"Don't worry, Brother!" Al exclaimed, being his ever-positive self. "You have one of the best records. It's almost guaranteed that you'll make it to the regionals."

Ed's expression turned grumpy. "Yeah, well, that's not enough, Al. I can't very well win the regionals if half the team has a better record than mine!"

"That's it, Shrimp. Get used to the idea of being a loser," a voice said from behind them.

The reaction was instantaneous; vapor began coming out of Ed's ears and his hair stood on end. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SMALL EDIBLE CRUSTACEAN!"

Al grabbed him by the back of his sweatshirt. "Calm down, Brother! He's just trying to rile you up so you lose concentration..." Ed quickly stopped thrashing around. It wasn't fair! Al always knew to hold on to him if he wanted to stop him; in that case Ed couldn't move for fear of making his brother lose his balance and hurt himself.

Ed glared at the insolent idiot that was standing in front of them with a smirk grazing his features. "Yeah well, he's getting his way, the bastard. Leggo, dammit!" he snapped back at his brother, trying to pry his sweatshirt from Al's grasp.

The newcomer's smirk only grew more and he ran a hand through his long, wispy hair. "You should listen to that poor, invalid brother of yours, Smurf," he said, his tone excessively innocent. "No sense in loosing your mind and ending up more humilliated than usual."

Edward felt the bile rise up in his throat. There was no one in this world Ed despised more than Envy Licht. The jerk had transferred into Leizenburgh Secondary some years ago; he was the adopted son of some very rich guy from Central City and he and his older sister had been sent to Leizenburgh because their father felt a more personal education was better for them. Leizenburgh Secondary wasn't a very big school, and so the attention was more personalized, or so the Principal had told them.

His sister, Lust, had graduated a couple of years back and it was a relief; the two of them had never wanted to move to Leizenburgh and they had always thought they were too good for such a small town. Since they were rich and used to a luxurious life, they had always thought themselves superior to the other residents, in all aspects. Lust was the most vain person Ed had ever met; luckily they'd only been in the same school for a couple of years. Envy, however, was in Ed's grade and he'd made it his personal mission to be the biggest bastard around. He didn't even study-- sometimes he didn't even show up to classes at all-- and it was his father's money that had landed him a spot in the track team in the first place. He could run, that's for sure, but he wasn't even interested in the beginning. When he saw in Edward someone who could potentially be better than him, that's when he became interested. He couldn't let a stupid country midget beat him. He was Envy Licht, after all.

Ed thought it was all bullshit. So what if he was rich? It was only because he'd been lucky-- Mr. Licht adopted anything that could move. Rumour was that he had adopted five kids in total, including Envy and Lust. And word of mouth was that some of them weren't even that great-- they'd heard about one with physical problems, or more like deformities, and there was another one that was allegedly mentally retarded. Which was all well and good, but what kind of father could that guy be? He'd just shipped two of his kids away to Leizenburgh without a day's notice. And who the hell would name their son Envy, anyways?

Through all these years, Ed had gotten into one too many messes because of Envy. He'd tried everything to get him to leave them alone, from beating him up to going to the Principal, but Envy was still there, thanks to his father's power. What did that guy do, anyways? Ed was sure he had to be something illegal. But anyway, as they couldn't get Envy off their backs, Al had resorted to just trying to get Ed and Winry to ignore him. He said Envy just craved attention, and their not giving it to him would drive him away. It hadn't worked, so far; the idiot kept pushing Ed's buttons and he could take anything that Envy said about him, but there was only one topic that to Ed meant crossing the line-- his brother's disability.

His face going red, Edward pried himself from his brother's grip and ran at full speed towards the stupid jerk. Envy kept smirking, not moving out of the way, until Ed finally grabbed him in a headlock and pushed him down. When he hit the floor he did look a bit surprised (so what if Ed was tiny; Envy was as thin as a rail so they were even-matched), but it didn't take long for the infuriating smirk to come back. "Come on, Shrimpy," he said, his voice husky because Ed had his hand on his throat. "Hit me. Do it. Get yourself kicked off the team."

Ed growled. "Stop messing with me and my brother, Licht," he pressed harder, sure he would at least leave a bruise on the bastard's neck. "When I'm done with you, you're going to be eating my dust."

Envy just smirked.

Ed just had the urge to punch the daylights out of him, when his brother intervened. Al rushed, as best as he could, to his brother's side. He dropped his walking cane to the floor and kneeled beside him; it hurt horribly, but he had to get Ed off of Envy before something extreme happened. He pulled his brother by the shoulders with all his might. "Brother, let go! It's not worth it!"

Fortunately for Al and his knees, Coach Armstrong had noticed the commotion and ran towards them. "What is this! Edward, Envy, stop this right now!" He easily separated Ed and Envy. Then he carefully picked up Al, and carried him to the bleachers, where he laid him down to see what he could do about his injury. The whole of the team, who had been standing around them, followed him to see what was wrong with Al.

Ed stood up halfway, wincing a little; his right arm hurt. He put too much force in trying to bring Envy down and his bones weren't in top condition after the accident. He'd probably have to have that arm looked at, again. He pushed it to the back of his head, and tried to go to Al's side. He forgot that Envy was still there, however, and that he was going to take advantage of the fact that Ed couldn't move as fast. He didn't notice until he felt himself being brought to his feet by the pull on his braid. Envy smirked at him, once again, and then punched him in the face.

Ed fell to the floor, all his weight on his hurting arm. Envy took one last look at him and started walking down the track. He wasn't running away; he knew he wasn't going to get into trouble anyway, so why bother? But he did so want to beat Elric in the competition, that he wasn't going to hurt him anymore, not quite yet. After they raced, who knew.

Ed sat up, lifting his hand to his aching mouth. He wasn't bleeding, but the hit was going to bruise. Damn that Licht. One of these days, he was going to give him what he deserved. But now, he was more worried about Al.

He walked over to where his brother was, sitting in the bleachers, pale and with ragged breathing. Coach Armstrong had given him a couple of painkillers and water, and had put some healing ointment on Al's knee. He kept muttering to the other team members. "...This kind of behavior is just not acceptable! You're lucky it's a Saturday or those two would already be sitting outside the Principal's office! He will be informed of this as soon as possible. I can't be expected to choose a team for the regionals after this display of barbaric conduct!" He had been telling the Principal for years that it was not a good idea to have that Licht kid in the school, much less in the track team. There was something inherently wrong with him. Armstrong couldn't pinpoint where the nucleus of the problem laid, but anyone with eyes could see that Envy was a bad seed. "We will have to cancel practice."

The rest of the team groaned. "But Coach! It's imperative that we get the team formed today! We'll need all the practice we can get, we can't afford to lose another week!" the only girl exclaimed, being something of a spokesperson for the groups. Most of the others nodded. Edward was still seething inside, but even he agreed; they had to get this over and done with. Al was feeling somewhat better (or so he had told Ed when he'd asked if he was ok) and even though Ed's face and right arm still hurt, that wasn't going to stop him from running.

Reluctantly, Coach Armstrong agreed to continue the session, but only after Al assured him that he was fine enough to take care of the stopwatch. He called Envy back, not without giving him an earful, which he ignored anyway. Sadly there wasn't much Armstrong could do about Envy; the last time something like this he'd banned Envy from running in a competition with a school from a neighboring town, and all that came out of it was Envy being given a disciplinary mark in his record and Armstrong getting a reduction on his salary because he had "abused his power."

So they started racing, in turns of two. They raced three times each, so it took them quite some time to complete the roster, what with breaks and even some discussions between race and race.

"Licht!"

Ed saw Envy walk up to the start line and pull his long hair into a ponytail. With a dark expression, he patted his brother's shoulder and headed down there himself. He and Envy had the two best records of the whole team; they always raced against each other because of that. However, Coach Armstrong stopped him before he could come closer. "Go back to your brother, Edward. You're not racing against Envy today."

Ed was genuinely confused. Sure, he and Envy had never gotten along, but the rotation of the races had never been altered because of that. "But Coach--"

"No buts, Mr. Elric. Go back to the bleachers. I will call you when it's your turn."

Ed grumbled. He'd really wanted to race against Envy and see his dumbfounded face when he kicked his ass in the track. But it wouldn't be today. He grudgingly made his way back beside his brother, and another boy was called in to race against Envy.

They were just about ready to run when Ed heard his name being called. "Ed! Edoooo!" Both brothers smiled when they noticed Winry waving at them as she skipped up to the bleachers. Mr. Hughes and Elysia tailed her, a few feet behind.

Envy let out a loud groan from below. "Shut her up, Elric! Just because you're doing her doesn't mean that we have to stand her annoying squeaks!"

Winry turned red, from anger or embarrasmment, no one knew. Ed stood up growling, and Al glared at the dark-haired truant. Mr. Hughes and Elysia seemed not to have heard. Envy seemed like he wanted to say something else, but Coach Armstrong quickly admonished him for his crude comment.

So they ran. The other boy was good, but Envy was excellent. Ed wanted to wipe that gloating expression from his face.

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you," Winry began as soon as they turned away from the race, "that I think that talent scout man is going to come today to see you race. I spoke with his assistant today and she was pretty sure they'd come." She beamed at Ed, hands clasping in front of her. "So you have to give it your all-- JUST WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!"

Edward winced at her shrilly tone; she had finally noticed the bruise on his face. She turned to Al and also saw that his knee was bandaged up and it seemed swollen. "You two are impossible! I leave you alone for a couple of hours and you immediately go and hurt yourselves! Stupid, that's what you are! Leg up, Al! I'll check that." She declared that Coach Armstrong had actually done a pretty good job with Al's leg, now all that was left was for him to let it rest; it probably wouldn't be a good idea for him to walk back home today. Then she tended to Ed's face with some alcohol she borrowed from the track team's first aid kit, and applied some of that pain-relief ointment, too. As for his right arm, she thought it was not necessarily something wrong with the bone, but that his muscles were too strained. After a light massage, Ed had to admit he was feeling much better.

It was getting dark when Ed was called to run. After being wished good luck by everyone, he went down to the track and got in position. The tried to leave his mind blank. Now was not the time to be thinking about Envy, or about talent scouts or about regionals. Right then it was only him and the track, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to give one hundred and twenty percent of himself.

Winry and Al noticed the newcomers, though. Roy Mustang and his assistant had come up to the bleachers, and were currently greeting Mr. Hughes and Elysia. Winry elbowed Al and gave him a significant glance. The boy understood. He didn't hope that his older brother would do good, because he knew Ed would; but he hoped this man could see his brother's talent and give him a chance to shine.

Soon Ed and his running partner were given the go. They started to run, and the familiar feeling of the wind in his face and the stress in his limbs made Ed feel right at home. He'd never run so fast in his life, he didn't think. He didn't even notice when he crossed the finish line; his opponent was still a good ten meters behind him. His mind only broke out of the spell when one of his teammates came up to him with a bottle of water and a towel.

Winry and Al turned to the three adults standing behind them as soon as the stopwatch stopped counting. "Well? What did you think?" Al asked, excited. Ed had managed a great time! He'd beaten his own record. He was still behind Envy by a mere couple of tenths of a second, but overall he had improved greatly. He hoped it had been enough to impress Mr. Mustang.

Mustang kept silent for a few seconds while they all stared at him, expectantly. Then...

"He's a midget!"

...Everybody fell down in shock. Of all the things that could've come out of his mouth... Al sweatdropped. "Just don't say that to his face," he said, thick streams of tears falling down his face.

"But about his running, Roy," Mr. Hughes pleaded to him to be serious. Mr. Mustang's assistant seemed to be pretty annoyed, too, but she kept quiet.

"Let me see his time," Mr. Mustang asked Al, and he eagerly handed him the stopwatch. He took one look at the digital readout, arched a brow, and gave it back to Al silently. They all held their breaths waiting for his next comment.

"I have to go back to Central tomorrow. But I'll be back sometime next month."

With a wave to Mr. Hughes, who was smiling at him, and to Elysia, he climbed down the bleachers and walked to the parking lot. His assistant nodded at them all, and followed him.

Al and Winry looked at each other, wide eyes and wide smiles adorning their faces. If that meant what they thought it meant... They squealed, Winry jumping up and down and Al clapping his hands, as he couldn't jump. Ed still had to run twice more, but as soon as they got hold of him after the last race, they told him what had happened. He didn't take it with so much joy, though. He was glad Mr. Mustang had taken an interest in him (neither Winry nor Al were ever going to tell him about the midget comment, of course, so all Ed got was a good impression of the guy), but he was still feeling down because he hadn't managed to beat Envy.

He only gave the dark-haired teenager one last dark look as the three of them got into Mr. Hughes' car. He'd offered to give them a ride home that night.

* * *

**author's notes--**

i quite like envy, but i think it's just too hard for me to characterize "bad guys", i feel it never comes out right. so I tried to model his attitude and the whole fight with ed from chapter 13 of the manga. i'm not sure if i managed to make it similar, i'll leave that up to you guys to decide... oh, and i'm sorry if you feel that envy has too much of a free reign at school. believe me when i say that his father is very powerful, not only in that school, but in the whole of amestris. saving his son from expulsion is the simplest thing for him.

BTW, envy and lust's last name, "licht," means "light" in german. remind you of someone? i think i just dropped my first plot point right there.

i do admit i know next to nothing about track running. it wasn't really a priority when i was in school-- we did run, for a short period during the school year in gym class, but it was nothing structured, like a track team, and definitely not for any type of competition, just to get a grade. and i'm really short (more than ed!), asthmatic and not very athletic, so i pretty much sucked at it... 8S forgive me if it seems i'm not describing it convincingly. track is just not my thing. maybe i should've made ed a baseball player...

say hello to armstrong! wheeeee...! i love that guy, he's so funny. and he's the coach! boy, are there a lot of runners in that town! i'm sure you've noticed that i've made all the alchemists be somehow related to track running. now what conclusions can you get from that, i wonder?

oh, and if you guys want to see what fräulein looks like, check it out (leave out the spaces):

www . web . odu . edu / webroot / orgs / hs / nurs / nursing . nsf / pages / 303chantilly (underscore) sp02

this is, quite possibly, the fastest i've ever written a fanfic in my entire life. i have other fics that haven't been updated in something like three years. lucky you, hagaren fans, then. hopefully i'll continue to be as fast. i don't know how long this thing will be-- could end up being humongous. gah! XS

**thanks for all the reviews!** it's really awesome that you guys are liking this, and i would be ecstatic if you keep reading it. i'd like to reply to some of you, BTW:

lirincandy: wow, to your favorites! thank you so much!

teenage writer: YAY alright :D

xmeo: i'm glad you liked fräulein! she'll probably make an appearance next chapter.

nyago: actually, that was on purpose! 8D i know that her name is officially spelled "riza," but for some strange "i'm-weird-and-i-know-it" reason, i prefer spelling it "liza", since it comes from elizabeth and all. it wouldn't matter to the japanese anyway, since the r and the l carry basically the same sound. hopefully it's not too strange for you people to read. same with the spelling of leizenburgh. i think it makes it all seem much more european, and i like that.

justareviewer: i'm glad you're liking it so far! i'm working very hard to keep this universe believable, yet faithful to the original. and i think ed is a disaster by himself; the track thing is just an added complication :D roy and ed will get much interaction in the future; in fact, they'll probably meet face to face in the next chapter.

thank you all for reading and i hope you like this chapter as well!


	5. Interlude I: Meeting Mr President

**Moving Forward**

**author:** carla, aka cali-chan   
**rating:** PG-13, because of some swearing... Can't be helped, since there will be people calling Ed "short" once in a while. Rating might go up to R, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.   
**genre:** AU, romance, a bit drama, really cheap humor XD   
**canon:** manga ONLY!   
**pairings:** EdoWin, RoyAi. Hughes will definitely be gushing about his wife a lot...   
**summary:** AU, chaptered, high-school themed, but not your usual sweet-valley high school fanfic. Edward Elric has to become the best track runner there is, for his mother, for his brother, and for everyone else in his life. But will triumph come at a high cost?

**in this interlude:** let's see how things go for roy & liza in good ol' central!

* * *

Interlude I: Meeting Mr. President 

"...Yes, I just got back two days ago and I'm a little busy, but I'm sure I can manage to spare some time for you... say, tonight around seven?"

Roy Mustang looked down when he heard growling beneath his desk. He curiosly peered, looking for the source of the sound, only half-listening to the giggling girl on the other side of the phone line. He found himself face to face with his assistant's little black and white puppy, who clearly wasn't very happy with him.

Roy extended his hand to pet the little dog, hoping to appease it so he could get some quiet. Hayate wasn't appeased, though, and immediately dodged Roy's hand and proceded to latch onto his pants.

"What the-- hey!" he glared at the dog, picked him up (it took him a while to get the thing to let go-- what a stubborn animal!) and put it on his lap. He was just about to glare at it when it decided to latch onto something else-- the telephone cord. "Dammit, leggo! What's your problem! It's like you're jealous or something-- no, not you Mathilde..."

He was still struggling with the puppy when someone cleared his/her throat. He looked up to see his assistant, holding some folders against her chest and looking down at him with a frown. "Sir, I don't think it's a good idea for you to schedule an outing tonight. Might I remind you that you have a meeting with the President of the ATFF this afternoon?"

Roy looked back at her, pointing at the dog, with his eyebrows arched high in a "can't you see the rabid BEAST that's currently sitting on my lap?" expression. It seemed that Hawkeye didn't see it, though, as she went on with her business without a second glance. She left the folders on his desk, making sure they were aligned properly. "The official records just arrived. Remember you have to read them and sign them before the meeting. And I know you wouldn't dream of playing hooky with something so important as this."

The dog finally stopped squirming and just sat there, with what Mustang swore would be a glare if it was human etched on its face. "I'll call you later, is that alright?" he told the girl on the other end of the line, curiously noticing that she sounded a little frantic. He ended the call and ran a hand over his face. The puppy seemed to be perfectly happy now that he'd put the phone down, but still he felt a headache coming, if only for the sheer amount of paperwork he just learned he had to do. And what's with the abuse? He usually got along just fine with Black Hayate. And Hawkeye frowned a lot but she'd been his assistant for such a long time that he could recognize when she was frowning because something was bothering her.

"Is everything ok?" he asked her, grabbing a pen from a drawer before digging into the pile of documents.

She ignored his question. "Come now, Buraha. You've played enough for today with Mr. Mustang." She nonchalantly picked up the dog, who was just ecstatic to be back in its master's arms again, and raised an eyebrow when she heard her boss sigh. "I wouldn't complain, sir. You'll be dealing with much more paperwork when you become President." And with that she left the room, feeling somewhat vindicated; the only date Mustang had scheduled for the following five hours was with a mountain of papers to sign.

--

They were all business as they entered the conference room.

President Bradley was already waiting for them. It seemed he had forgo the presence of his assistant; it was rare to see him by himself, he always seemed to have a lot of people around: assistant, secretaries, bodyguards... Truly a sign that he was a very important man.

He got up from the head of the table as he saw the two come in. He greeted them both with a smile, which Roy found incredibly ironic because the man obviously knew Roy wanted his job. But it wasn't the time or the place to think about overthrowing Bradley, so they both simply replied in kind and sat down, ready to get the show on the road.

"So I hear you have discovered our future medallist, Mustang."

"Well, I hope he will be, Sir," Roy replied with a nod.

"What can you tell me about him?"

Roy extended his hand towards Liza and she handed him the respective folder. He in turn handed it to President Bradley as he started to explain Edward's situation. "He's a boy, eighteen, was born and has lived all his life in Leizenburgh."

"Leizenburgh, hmm? It's been a while since we've had someone from there in the Championship. It's a rather small, forgotten town."

"Don't I know it!" Roy muttered under his breath, remembering how bored he'd been all through his stay in that town. "Well, this boy is an orphan. Mother died when he was 10, father left without a trace even before that. His only living relative is his younger brother, who is seventeen. Since their mother died, they've been living with those that used to be their next-door neighbors."

"Yes, yes. But is he really good?" Bradley hadn't looked at the documents yet. He valued Mustang's opinion when it came to scouting-- he had a very keen eye for talent. And that's why he'd climbed the ladder so fast in the ATFF.

Roy supported his elbows on the table. "Well, to be honest, Sir, he doesn't have the most brilliant numbers. He's not even the best in his school's team. But from what I've seen and heard, I believe he has the right attitude. He seems determined enough. Perhaps with the proper coaching and medical care we might get him to shine."

His last phrase surprised President Bradley, he knew. Medicine wasn't something that usually came up during these sessions. "Medical care? What do you mean?"

Roy's eyes narrowed, and he looked down at the table. He knew Bradley would have his doubts after he heard this. "He and his brother were involved in a car accident shortly after their mother died; his knee is still somewhat fragile from it. Miss Hawkeye?"

Liza promptly opened another folder in front of her. "Broken left tibia, dislocated left knee and fractured right arm, along with various other superficial lacerations and bruises," she recited the injuries Ed had sustained out loud.

Roy turned back to the President with a grim expression. "His brother now has to use a crutch to walk."

"He has problems in his knee and you still think he can compare to the other runners in the competitions?" the President asked with a frown. He tought Mustang had more sense than to recommend someone that would bring so many inconveniences to the organization.

"It is precisely because of that that I think so, Sir," Roy explained, his expression serious and contemplative. His mouth remained hidden behind his hands. "He and his brother have been running since they learned to walk. From what I hear, after what happened to his mother, and after the accident, his resolve to go as far as possible has only strenghtened. He wants to be big, for himself, and because his brother can't be." He let out a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Wanting to be at the top because of others... that's an attitude I can relate to. I think he can do it."

The President stayed silent for a few minutes. He understood what Mustang meant with that, but he chose not to comment. Strength of character was something that they valued a lot among the ATFF ranks; an ATFF-sponsored athlete didn't just have to be good, but he also had to be strong enought to withstand the enormous pressure that came with the title. Perhaps Mustang had hit the nail with this one.

"I see. Well, I don't think there's any trouble with running his profile down with the Board. We may just have a winner." He finally opened the folder and started reading the file. Mustang nodded and Hawkeye continued jotting down notes.

After a while, though, the President started to frown and Roy grew anxious. "Is there anything wrong, Sir?" He was sure he'd read and signed all the papers and at the moment everything seemed to be in order. Hawkeye frowned too, as she had also gone over them (she always went over the papers when he was finished-- it wouldn't be the first time he'd only finished half of them so he could go out) and they all seemed to be correct.

President Bradley closed the folder and cleared his throat. "I'm afraid it's not going to happen, Mustang."

Roy rose from his seat, looking dumbfounded at the man. "What? Why? Sir--"

"I can't discuss it with you," the President cut him off, signaling with a hand. He stood up from his chair and piled up the folders, arranging them in the correct order. "It would be better if you just left it alone. There's no use in presenting Edward Elric to the Board, I can assure you he is only going to be rejected. Do not go on with this." And with those words, he walked out of the conference room, leaving two stunned people in his wake.

--

They were still sporting grim expressions when Roy's car pulled up to Liza's apartment complex.

She pulled all her papers together and brought the strap of her purse to her shoulder, before opening the door. "I'm sorry things didn't go your way, Sir," she told him as she stepped out of the car.

"That's okay, Hawkeye," he replied, thumbs caressing the steering wheel as he spoke, not looking at her, but up front. Like he was thinking of things beyond her going back to her place. "Have a good night. And remember to start packing; we're going back to Leizenburgh soon."

Years of working with him had conditioned her to take everything he threw at her without loosing her composure. This time, though, he managed to surprise her. "Sir...?" she asked him, eyes wide and curious.

"We're going to bring the Elric kid to Central. With the Federation's permission or not." He smirked, and turned to look at her stunned expression. "You're not backing out on me now, are you?"

He saw her expression change and it was like he could hear what she was thinking. Confusion, at first. Then she was a little offended by his comment. Finally she settled on being serious and determined, like she always was. "Of course not, Sir. You know I'm by your side no matter what. I'm just wondering if you've thought this through..."

"Oh, but of course," he assured her, leaning back on his chair, still smirking, like it had been the easiest decision he'd ever made in his life. "The Federation's hiding something, and it's something big, if Bradley was so adamant on this application not going to the Board of Directors. I want to find out what it is, and this Elric kid is going to be my ticket in. I noticed Bradley was positive up to the point he learned Elric's name. I'm sure you noticed, too."

She had. And yes, Liza could see his point. This could be the weak point of Bradley's regime that they'd been looking for; it could be Roy's big chance. "I understand, Sir. I shall pack."

He looked at her again, and this time he smiled, a real smile. "I'm glad you're backing me up. I'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded, feeling very relieved. Closing the door of the car behind her, she walked into the building. She could hear the sound of her little pet barking happily as she opened the door to her apartment to get a good night's rest.

* * *

**author's notes--**

AAAAAHHHHHH! THE FLUFF! IT KEELS ME DED!11oneone! -dies from too much sugar in her bloodstream-

stupid muse is quiet all week and then pops up right when i need to study for my organic chemistry final. oh, i'm so going to fail this test... -cries-

i wrote this in like one sitting, and it's 3 am so that should tell you something about my state of mind at the moment. so please forgive any typos and stuff.

anyway, i should clear up some things.

first off, once in a while there will be little interludes like this one. you'll notice them because of the lack of a title beginning with "not" :D since my main characters are ed, al and winry, whenever i need to show you guys something that's happening when they're not involved, it will be by way of an interlude.

ATFF means "amestrian track & field federation." in simple terms, it's the organization that controls all track & field competitions in the country. they also endorse certain athletes by way of their talent scouts. what that means is that, usually, you'd have to run through several competitions, like between schools, to go to regionals, then county/district competitions and THEN go to nationals to be able to earn a spot in the team for the world championship. it's incredibly hard to reach the top if that's the case, you have to compete against literally thousands of people, which not only takes a lot of effort, but also a lot of time; years, if not decades to prove your worth. if a scout "discovers you", though, you just get a free, instant ride. you're taken directly to the federation and you're one step away from the championship, it's almost a safe bet to say that you'll make the team. that's why ed, al and winry are so excited that roy will see ed's talent.

i wuv buraha :-) he is so the cutest thing.

i decided on adding a lot of fluff to this because i know what's coming. next chapter will be filled with al angst; and ed and roy finally meet face to face. and the plot thickens, if you didn't notice in this little interlude.

**thanks to all of you who have reviewed!** i'm glad you guys are liking it so far. you guys always make my day.

brickwall: when did winry say that? well, people probably think so anyway... but i'm sure she'll say it out loud someday... probably soon XD

june: it does seem like they fight less, doesn't it? that's probably because she doesn't carry her wrench around so when they fight it's less violent XD though i agree, they don't fight THAT much as other writers make them out to.

thank you all, and i hope you like this installment too!


	6. Chapter 5: Not just his burden to bear

**Moving Forward**

**author:** carla, aka cali-chan   
**rating:** PG-13, because of some swearing... Can't be helped, since there will be people calling Ed "short" once in a while. Rating might go up to R, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.   
**genre:** AU, romance, a bit drama, really cheap humor XD   
**canon:** manga ONLY!   
**pairings:** EdoWin, RoyAi. Hughes will definitely be gushing about his wife a lot...   
**summary:** AU, chaptered, high-school themed, but not your usual sweet-valley high school fanfic. Edward Elric has to become the best track runner there is, for his mother, for his brother, and for everyone else in his life. But will triumph come at a high cost?

**in this chapter:** It's Al's 17th birthday! So he angsts. And Mustang comes to Leizenburgh with a proposition.

* * *

Chapter 5: Not just his burden to bear / Not just his decision to make 

Alphonse felt himself being brought out of the haze of sleep by something... furry.

First he tried to turn his head to the side; whatever it was, it was tickling his nose. When that didn't work, he tried swatting it away, but still it insisted on rubbing against his face. By that time he was just too awake to keep his eyes closed, so he gave up. He opened his eyes to find himself looking into a pair of golden eyes. And they weren't exactly his brother's.

"Oh!" he sat up, and the kitten fell down into his lap. His hand went out to pet it and it immediately curled into his caress. "Where did you come from, little one?"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY AL!" someone screamed out of the blue and Al (plus kitty) jumped about five feet off the ground in fright. After he caught his breath back, he turned to the door, where Winry was standing, hands clasped behind her back and a giant smile on her face, and Ed was just coming in.

Al picked the cat back up in his arms and laughed when it tried to climb to his shoulder. "Her name's Fräulein," Winry provided. "So, do you like her? From Edward and me, with all our love!"

"More like with all of your prodding and Brother's money," he replied, knowing full well that the two of them always banded together to get him a great gift. He didn't see his brother shopping, though, and he knew Winry didn't make that much from babysitting, but it was ok by him, it didn't make the feelings behind the gift any less to him.

He received two dark looks for his comment, though, and his brother muttered something about ungrateful babies under his breath. Al laughed. "Fräulein, eh? The name fits her well."

"You like her, right?" Winry asked him again, and without waiting for an answer, she turned to Ed and poked him in his arm. "See? I told you he'd like her!"

Ed looked crossly at her. "I never said he wouldn't like her!"

She gaped at him. "Yes you did!"

He gaped at her. "No I didn't! Don't go making things up now!"

"You've been complaining about my choice since the day I told you!"

"I have not! It's Al for godssakes-- he'd like anything we gave him!"

"Then why did you--"

"You two," Al called from the bed, with a giant sweatdrop on his head. "You know, it would be a much better present for me if you could stop arguing, at least for today."

Both of them stopped in mid-sentence and turned back to Al, doubtful. "No, it wouldn't," Winry replied, daringly.

The birthday boy simply blinked at them. And then he giggled. "No, it wouldn't," he chortled, and went back to cuddling with Fräulein. "Argue all you want! This is the best present ever!"

The other two chuckled, glad that they'd made him happy. "That's great, Al. Well, I have to go and get ready for school," Winry said, giving Al one last smile before leaving the room. His brother nodded, agreeing with her.

"Now don't just go on snogging the cat, or we'll be late." Ed also made to leave, but he paused for a second with his hand on the doorhandle. He turned back his head and smiled at the picture Al made playing with his new kitty. "Happy birthday, little brother." Al replied thankfully and Ed left. Not a minute later, though, the door opened and his blonde head popped back in. "And don't even think of stuffing that thing in your backpack so you can sneak her into school!"

Al sweatdropped again as his brother ran outside, his braid trailing behind him with the breeze. But as soon as the door closed, his expression dropped. He laid back down on his bed and gathered the kitten to his chest. "I'm glad you're here with me now, Fräu," he sighed, scratching her behind her ears. She mewled sadly, looking up at him with liquid gold eyes. "Today's going to be a hard day."

--

That day at school was just not normal. It wasn't bad... not by everyone else's standards. But to Alphonse, it was just a little overwhelming.

He was well-liked by all of his classmates, of course. It was no surprise, then, that he was showered with congratulations, well-wishes and affection from all of them. His math teacher had added an extra point to his grade for the day because it was his birthday. Some girls even gave him gifts. One of them even asked him out "to celebrate" (and he was sure he was going to be teased for it that night at dinner). And while he was grateful that they all liked him so much, he didn't like being the center of attention. He was a shy boy; a rarity, indeed, between the other teenagers in his town. He didn't want everybody to look at him; he much preferred to watch from the sidelines.

And it wasn't easy to accept others' joy if you just weren't feeling it yourself.

He'd been eerily quiet as he and Winry walked back home after school. Ed had to stay behind for practice (since he'd made it to the team for the regionals, they were now practicing every day. So what if they had tests and schoolwork? The competition was much more important!), and Al had offered to stay with him as he always did, but Edward argued that he didn't want to make his brother late for his own birthday dinner. So he'd stayed, and Winry babbled about a new car model all the way to the Rockbell house, and Al just wished he could go to bed and stay there until the day was over.

Now he had made it; he was sitting by the window, looking out, with Fräulein on his lap. And he was thinking... that in days like these... he missed his mother so much. He missed her every single day of the year, of course. He thought about her all the time. But on days like his birthday, he could just remember so vividly how she smiled at him, and told him she loved him. That he was growing to be a fine young man; and how proud she was of him. He ached so much for her warmth. He knew he should be stronger, it had been about seven years already... but he doubted he could. The very first thing he did every morning when he woke up was to look up at the sky and say hello to her; he bid her goodnight, too, every night. And he would continue doing so until the day he had to join her up there.

Thinking about strength led him to the other topic he was concentrating on that day-- his older brother. He wouldn't admit it to anyone (stubborn as he was), but Brother was really overexerting himself with this whole Regionals deal. Al was really afraid Brother would end up irreversibly hurt. He'd always practiced a lot, but before there wasn't much pressure; with the upcoming arrival of the All-Sports World Championship, everything had gotten too hectic. And Al felt more than a little guilty about it.

Ed always took his promises seriously, and the one they made to his mother was the most important of all. Al had no doubt he would some day get to the top, it was just who his older brother was, he was a leader. But Alphonse knew his brother was pushing himself to the extremes because he felt guilty about the accident. He'd been quick to put all the blame on himself; he'd had the idea to go practice at unholy hours in the morning, after all. And Al was sure that no matter what he said, Brother would always feel that way. But his being so hard on himself didn't make Al feel any better; he could've refused to go, and he didn't. He was as much at fault as Edward. And he did want to see his brother win the gold, but because he was good, not because he felt guilty that he'd left his brother an invalid. He didn't want it to be an obligation for Ed to be the best just because Al couldn't. Not if he had to suffer because of it.

Which brought him to another point he'd been contemplating for a while... Edward always kept his promises, but Alphonse couldn't keep that one he'd made to his mother on her deathbed. Not by choice, obviously; if he could, he'd still be running and walking and being a normal kid. But he'd always felt that he had failed her, in some way. They'd been stupid and as a result he was now useless. It pained him not to be able to be what his mother wished him to be; she'd always had so much faith in him. Not only that, but he hated being a bother to others. They went out of their way to make sure he was always alright, and he knew they did it because they loved him, but they shouldn't _have_ to do it. Not only could he not find a place for himself in the sport he so loved, but he was also slowing down his brother's carreer, he kept Winry constantly worried about him, and of course, taking care of a person with disabilities couldn't be easy for Granny Pinako...

All these thoughts intertwined in his mind in a vicious cycle. And everything, from the simple fact that he was born on a day like today, to the light limp his brother walked with as he came up to the main door of the house, brought him back to it.

A knock on his door got him out, though.

He turned to it just as Winry peeped in. "Hey, maybe you should come down. The Hughes' arrived a while ago... they brought Elysia this time! And the food's almost ready."

He nodded and started to get up. "Brother's just arrived, too."

"Oh, he has?" he saw her eyes light up as they always did when she heard something good about Edward. Al cringed; he wasn't about to tell her his brother came home limping. She'd have a fit. "I must've just missed him, then. I should go check his leg." She made a move to walk out but she seemed to think better of it. "Al?"

"Yes, I'm coming," he said, leaving Fräulein on his bed while he looked for a comb. He heard Winry walk up to him and he turned to look at her.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, looking into his eyes. He faltered; he didn't want her to know all those things he'd been thinking about, but it was hard to hide things from her. He'd known her literally his whole life. And it just wasn't who he was... he didn't hide things from people. He didn't believe in lying.

Still, knowing he was feeling all depressed on his birthday would just make them all sad. He didn't want to see them sad. If lying through his teeth and making them think he was entirely thankful for all the things they did for him was what it took to make them happy, that's what he would do. "Yes. I just... I just miss Mom a little, that's all. It's okay."

Winry's face softened and she smiled at him, trying to cheer him up. "Oh, Alphonse," she closed the distance between them and drew him into a tight hug. "I'm sorry. I know how that feels..." He nodded, just to go along with her. She, too, had lost her parents when she was a mere child. But she didn't know... no one knew... She patted him on the back and let go, still smiling. "Listen, I know I'm not her, but you know I'll always be here for you, right?" He nodded again, trying to reassure her. She gave him one last pat on his shoulder and turned to leave. "You can take your time coming down if you want to!"

"Don't worry, I'll be right there," he assured her, and she left. He started looking for that comb again.

--

He didn't know public embarassment was a common birthday dinner ritual. Alphonse didn't think a face could get any redder than his was right now.

Mr. Hughes had obviously heard about the girl who had asked him out at school. He made up a speech about how teenagers these days tended to be impulsive and how it was his job as Student Counselor to make sure they were informed, thought things through and measured the consequences, before pulling out a box of condoms and giving them to Al as a gag present. He was sure his eyes had actually popped out of their sockets for a second there. Everybody else found it incredibly funny.

He sighed, wishing he could melt into the couch. At least Elysia hadn't heard, she was busy on the other side of the living room playing with Fräulein and Den. Gracia had pulled on her husband's ear and told him to give Al his real present (a CD, which wasn't half bad). Edward was still laughing like a hyena when they heard the sound of the doorbell. Granny Pinako went to open it.

"Hello," said the tall man, not smiling, but with a polite expression as she looked down at Granny. "We're looking for Edward Elric. Is he here?"

Granny looked up and down at the man's blue uniform, arching an eyebrow. "Yes, he is. What's the truant done now, to merit being wanted by the military?"

Edward, who had heard his name, came up to see who it was. "I didn't do anything, old hag!" he threw a dark glare at old Pinako, who only replied with a shrug. Then he looked at their visitor. "Hey... you're that Liutenant fella."

Havoc saluted lazily, with two fingers. "Yep, me again. I'm escorting two very important people who want to meet you. Can we come in?"

Pinako nodded gravely. "Yes, but you'll have to put out your cigarrette, I'm afraid."

Havoc glared at her, eyebrow twitching. The woman had guts to tell him that, when she was holding a smoking pipe in her hand. But oh well, it was her house, after all... "That's ok, Ma'am. I'll just wait in the car." And grumbling under his breath, he walked back out to reveal a blonde woman and a dark-haired man coming up to the house.

"Who are you?" Ed asked without preamble. Pinako rolled her eyes. The boy was never known for being polite. "Can this wait? It's my brother's birthday dinner and..."

"Easy, kid," the man said, stepping past Ed and Pinako with only a nod as a greeting. He walked in and headed for what he assumed was the living room. "It won't take too long."

The blonde woman came up to them, too. "Thank you for letting us come in, Mrs. Rockbell." Granny Pinako nodded and greeted her in kind. Edward frowned. What was going on here? He followed the man to the living room only to find him with Elysia being thrown in his faca by an over-enthusiastic Mr. Hughes. Gracia was smiling at the man, too. So they obviously knew each other... The man muttered something and handed Elysia back to Mr. Hughes. Ed noticed that Winry and Al were looking between the man and himself with huge grins on their faces. Now this was just strange...

"Ok, what is it?" he asked, growing impatient.

The man sat down and the woman soon followed his example. He saw her take some folders out of a briefcase she was carrying, but it was the man who spoke first. "I'm Roy Mustang, and I'm a talent scout for the ATFF. I've read your record and I saw you run a couple of weeks ago. I think you have potential to come run for us."

There was silence for a few seconds, and then Ed replied. "You saw me run like a month ago. And suddenly you pop in NOW? Sounds kinda unprofessional..."

"Told ya he popped!" Mr. Hughes quipped, snickering, from one side.

Winry pulled on Ed's braid. "Edward, don't be a smartass with the man who holds your future in his hands..." she told him in a sugary, but highly terrifying tone.

Ed did as he was told, to avoid incurring in the Wrath of Winry (tm). "So I'll be sponsored by the State?"

Mustang arched a brow. "Not yet. You'll need to train a lot before being presented to the Board. Maybe learn some discipline and adjust those attitude problems..." he finished with a smirk.

Ed twitched all over. "I don't have any attitude problems, you..." Another, more drastic pull on his braid (this time from Al, believe it or not) shut him up.

"Of course, if you don't want to come," Mustang continued, back to his serious expression, "it's up to you. We don't go where we're not wanted."

"Of course I want to--"

"I don't think he should go," came Granny Pinako's voice from the entrance. She walked towards the living room, everybody looking at her as she came out of the shadows. "He has not finished high school yet. His studies should be the most important thing right now."

"That would be no problem, Mrs. Rockbell," the blonde woman intervened. "He would be scheduled with a tutor daily in order to complete his education--"

"And you work for the Federation," Pinako continued, looking directly at Mustang as if she hadn't heard the woman speak. "Surely you know of what happened to these boys' father. I'm the one who's been taking care of them ever since. I know the pain his carreer caused. That lifestyle is not good."

At the mention of their father, both Elric boys blanched. Even Mustang and Hawkeye, in all their calm demeanor, looked a little taken aback. "But Granny...!" Al started, trying to beg for Pinako to give it another chance. Ed wasn't like their father. He wouldn't disappear off the face of the earth like their father did. Edward would get to the top. He would!

"I am aware, Mrs. Rockbell," Mustang assured her, gravely. "I am only doing what I should do, giving him a choice. He knows what the benefits are and what he would have to give in return... It is his choice. I would appreciate that you let him make it." He stood up and his assistant did the same. They waved at the Hughes' and only after passing beside all the other residents of the house, they stopped. "Make sure you decide before... Miss Hawkeye..."

Hawkeye nodded and brought out her planner. "July 1st, Sir."

"...Before July 1st. That's when we leave for Central." And with that, they left. The living room grew quiet, so quiet that they could even hear the sound of Second Liutenant Havoc turning on the engine of the car outside.

"Well, that's one way to end the party," Mr. Hughes told himself, as he left his daughter playing with Den and Fräu again.

* * *

**author's notes!--**

ack, i HATE this chapter! B/ -sulks- i tried to model it more or less after chapter 24, but i think i blew it. boy, getting roy in character is hard! and his interaction with ed... they don't argue as much in the manga as they do in the anime. it's just so difficult to get it right... -sigh-

i feel al doesn't get enough angst opportunities in both manga and anime. i mean, sure we know he suffers, but we never get it from his point of view. we know ed sulks about what they did and about all the crap that happened to them because of it 24/7. but we only get peeks at al's feelings when he answers to how ed is feeling. i thought giving him a chapter just to feel down would be different. but that's just me, lol XD

anyway, next chapter ed and al will go visit someone who will help ed decide whether to go with mustang or not. and i'm already laughing about it 8D the working title's "not to visit sensei...!" so i'm pretty sure you can figure it out.

**thanks for all the reviews, you guys!** some replies, as always...

brickwall: ack! i had forgotten about that scene! -sweatdrop- oh, i'm such a great author, i even forget what i've written... -more sweatdropping- yeah, i see your point, but actually, when she said "he's not my boyfriend" she meant ed. elysia thinks of ed as "winry's boyfriend" while al is "the tall one." so the whole phrase, in other words, would be "ed's not my boyfriend! and even if he was, it's not ed's birthday..." see? but really, i think i need to see a shrink anyways, hehe...

silver archer: i... have no idea XS as i said, the only thing i know about track running is that you have to run... i'd take a guess and say any of the sprints, i think. say, 100m, 200m? up to 400m. anything greater than that would probably hurt him too much.

nyago: aww, i like envy! he's the coolest of the homunculi, i think. but he's gotta be the bad guy, that's just who he is... 8D

i'm really glad you're liking this, everyone! the plot will start moving soon enough. hang in there!


	7. Chapter 6: Not to visit Sensei!

**Moving Forward**

**author:** carla, aka cali-chan   
**rating:** PG-13, because of some swearing... Can't be helped, since there will be people calling Ed "short" once in a while. Rating might go up to R, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.   
**genre:** AU, romance, a bit drama, really cheap humor XD   
**canon:** manga ONLY!   
**pairings:** EdoWin, RoyAi. Hughes will definitely be gushing about his wife a lot...   
**summary:** AU, chaptered, high-school themed, but not your usual sweet-valley high school fanfic. Edward Elric has to become the best track runner there is, for his mother, for his brother, and for everyone else in his life. But will triumph come at a high cost?

**in this chapter:** Ed and Al go visit someone that will help Ed decide. Mwahaha BD

* * *

Chapter 6: Not to visit Sensei...! 

Alphonse gulped as they unloaded their stuff at the bus station in Dublith. "Brother, do you really think this is a good idea?"

Edward didn't answer him, as he was busy picking up both his and his brother's backpacks. Al prodded him with a finger. "Brother, we can't hide the fact that we had an accident from her. She'll be furious! And what if she trips us like she used to? I'll end up in a wheelchair! And if she makes us run laps? I can't run laps, Brother...!"

"Al... Al!" Ed exclaimed, grasping his brother's shoulders and shaking him lightly, not enough to hurt him but sure that he'd get his attention. "Listen, I need to do this. So we just have to deal with it, okay?" He adjusted both bags over his shoulders again, so nothing would fall off, and gave Al a nervous smile. "Besides, bad news travel fast. She probably already knows about the accident. And I'll keep her off you as much as I can. That good for you?"

Al pulled on his collar but nodded reluctantly. He only did it to humor Edward. He was more or less resigned to his fate; even his older brother was no match for the woman when she was angered. And boy, was she going to be angry. That one they couldn't get out of. He just hoped she'd be lenient with him because he couldn't run from her...

"...Though you should probably try walking without your cane for a while. Just to... try something new..."

Al: T.T

Brother just wasn't making this any easier...

Al barely had time to put away his walking stick when they heard a voice calling them. They smiled when they saw Mason, who was surely sent by their teacher to pick them up. "How are you two! Ed, I see you've grown... Al, I see you've grown even MORE..."

"Don't even go there!" Ed growled at him, which made the man laugh.

"Ah, I see you haven't changed at all," Mason chuckled, picking up their bags effortlessly. "Hurry up, now. Mrs. Izumi is expecting you, so we better run. Oh, what am I saying, you're excellent runners, of course you'll run..."

Edward held back and walked at his brother's pace, so no one would notice that Al had to walk slower than normal. "Brother, this is the first time I've been seen as a runner since the accident...!" he whispered, with such awe in his voice, that it was difficult for Ed not to sweatdrop.

"I'm glad you're happy, Al..." he said, not bothering to hide his amusement. But still there was dread creeping up his spine. "Let's just hope it lasts." They walked for something like fifteen minutes until they finally came to a small, non-descript house. But it was a very familiar house.

"Stay out here. I'll go see if Mrs. Izumi can come out," Mason told them, and then went inside, yelling his boss' name.

Ed and Al huddled together, maybe thinking that there was strength in numbers. Not that it was going to be of any help. "What are the odds that she's having a really bad day and can't get up from the bed?" Edward asked his brother, voice a little shaky.

"I don't know, but I don't think it'll matter anyway," Alphonse muttered back. There the conversation died, and they eyes opened like plates when they saw a huge leg stomp its way out the door. The huge leg was followed by a huge arm holding onto the door, and the huge arm was followed by the huge body of a huge, somber-looking man who made the Elric brothers start sweating like crazy.

"H-hello..." Edward stuttered, looking up at him. Alphonse clung to his arm like he hadn't since he was six.

For a second there, it seemed like the man was about to hit them; but then, his expression changed into something that could almost-- ALMOST-- be called a smile. "Edward? Alphonse?" Both Elrics nodded. "You've-- Alphonse, you've grown!" The fact that he specifically commented on Alphonse's height didn't go unnoticed by Edward, but there was no way in hell he was going to freak out on his teacher's husband. That would be like suicide. "Glad you boys came by to visit!"

"Actually, I came by to get Sensei's opinion on something..." Ed explained, still feeling tense.

Sig nodded. "Very well. I'll go tell her you're here. She hasn't been feeling well lately, but I'm sure she'll be able to help you out." With that, he too went inside to talk to his bedridden wife.

The silence stretched on for what seemed like hours. The sun shined, crickets chirped, and was that... hay rolling down the street? The two were doing their best to look everywhere but at the door. And perhaps that was why they didn't notice the kick until Ed found himself flying through the air.

"So it's very nice of you two to come and visit after _eight years_ of not doing so!" the woman stated, not even bothering with a fake sweet tone. She was being deliberately hard. Edward groaned from where his face was stuck to the ground... he wasn't sure if what he was feeling were his toes or if they were gone and he was just experiencing phantom pain.

She turned to Al and smiled. "Alphonse! You're really tall!" Al was almost beginning to relax when his teacher came up to pat him on the shoulder-- but the pat came a little too hard. He, too, ended up sprawled on the ground. Now everything hurt, but he sucked it up so she wouldn't notice the problem in his legs. If she did, the pain would be ten times worse. "Ha! You haven't been sparring. I wonder just how you've been practicing... Just running isn't enough, I thought I'd taught you that."

Not all was well in paradise, though, as she hadn't quite finished speaking when she coughed and spat a little blood out of her mouth. Her husband Sig was by her side in an instant, holding an handkerchief to her and lightly patting her back so she wouldn't choke. When she was feeling a little better, she turned to both boys, who were just getting up. "But anyway, come on in! We'll have some lunch and then we'll see what you came here for." If it had been any other person, they wouldn't have believed such a drastic mood change. Inwardly recognizing that some things never changed, they followed their teacher and her husband inside the house.

--

"I thought you already knew my opinion on that matter," Izumi told them as they finished eating. Ed had just explained the situation to her, and her expression had turned very serious.

"Yes, Sensei," Ed muttered in reply, looking down at the table. There were things you were taught at a very young age, that you couldn't understand at the time and so you learned to believe it even if you could find no reason. These things you did not doubt, you just took for granted. And as you grow up, and you begin to think these principles may be wrong, or at least try to find the reasoning behind them, it is still very hard to let go of the belief. This was one of those things, for the Elric brothers. Ever since they were very little they learned that their teacher had no love for State-sponsored runners. She never told them why, but her dislike was deeply ingrained in her two students. Now Ed wanted to know why it was she held those feelings. "But maybe it'd be more helpful to me... if I knew the reason."

Izumi looked at her two students, who were both sporting the same expression of dread and guilt. She wondered if it would be good for the both of them to know the truth. She frankly couldn't tell. The last time she'd seen them, they had seemed so innocent, still. But now...

She'd first met the Elric brothers ten years ago, when she'd gotten a job at Leizenburgh Elementary as a PE teacher. Little Ed was every bit the typical brat. Little Al followed him around everywhere, eyes shining in hero-worship; it was very cute, really. She liked kids, even if she wasn't really known for her patience. Ed didn't share the feeling, though. He always had a wiseass comment in class; he was always loud and rebellious, and they got into many an argument in that first semester she taught classes. She never thought an eight-year old pipsqueak could try her patience so much.

That was until the day they saw her run.

She never knew why they'd decided to go look for her after getting out of the showers. All she knew was that as she crossed the finish line and stopped to take a break, she found them on the edge of the track, looking up at her, eyes wide as saucers. They told her they liked to run, and they had been practicing, but their technique wasn't any good. They wanted to become better. And they begged for her to train them.

She grudgingly agreed (after they both hung onto her legs so hard that she couldn't walk and she just did whatever they asked so they would quit it), and it was the beginning of a... well, not really beautiful, but really interesting friendship.

She taught them everything they knew. She taught them to love the sport; to revel in the feel of the wind touching their face as they ran, and of the earth beneath their every step towards the goal. And she got to know them pretty closely. She learned that Edward was always so tough because their father had abandoned them and he thought he had to assume the role of the man of the house. She learned that ever since their father left, Alphonse had shifted his attention to his older brother, hoping Ed could be his guide in life. She learned that their mother was everything to them, that they wanted to be good runners because they wanted to make her proud, because their father had loved to run, too. She had grown to love the little rascals.

And then the miscarriage happened.

It was not only a terrible blow to her and her husband-- it also took a heavy toll on her body. She became sickly and suffered from a lot of pain, which would accompany her to her last day. It was a very hard ordeal overall. Of course she couldn't run anymore, and had to quit her job. It also meant she couldn't continue coaching the Elrics. In the end, she and her husband had to move back to their hometown, Dublith. They'd been living a quiet life ever since. She wasn't too worried about the kids, actually; they had improved enormously in the time she'd worked with them. They undoubtedly had a lot of potential, and they continued visiting her, anyway... until their mother died.

That was the last news she heard from them, seven years ago. Now she looked at them and she wondered where those two innocent kids she'd known were. It seemed they carried heavy burdens on their shoulders. Only the loss of the single most important person in their lives could cause such change in them.

She cleared her throat and stood up, Sig immediately rushing to assist her. She picked up her plate and handed it to her husband. "Let's just do the dishes first, and then we'll head outside. We'll talk there."

Both boys nodded and along with Mason, they started to take all eating utensils to the kitchen.

--

"Running for the State is no game," she started, as she sat in the rocking chair that Sig had brought out for her. Her two students sat on the floor in front of her, paying rapt attention. Edward was frowning. "Once you say yes, once you sign that contract... they own you."

"In what sense?" Al asked her, so curious.

"In every sense. You don't know how serious they are about winning; it's kind of a disease, in this country... too much pride, it becomes arrogance. They want to win. They want to win and be the best, and they don't care what they have to do or who they have to run over to do it."

"You mean..." Edward started, already thinking the worst. And he was right.

"I mean they'd do anything. You think they're giving you a chance; they aren't. They're only using you. They only want what you have to give them. They wrap you up in all the celebrity and the success and squeeze every bit of energy out of you. And if you don't deliver, they drop you; and want it or not, you're just never the same."

"How do you know all of this?" Edward asked her. He felt a little ganged up on. He knew, of course, that their teacher had a very negative opinion about State-sponsored runners, but he couldn't help but feel defensive.

"Well, you've never really been out of Leizenburgh... I can understand that you've never heard of these things," Izumi sighed, her expression going hard. "I think of it as common knowledge, the fact that State-sponsored runners tend to... disappear."

"What?" Alphonse asked, stunned. Disappear? Surely it had to be a metaphor for something else...

"There was a case, some years ago," she continued, looking up at the ceiling. She was trying to recall the details correctly, to give them a better idea of what they were getting into. "This man... he was a really good runner. It was uncanny; I remember watching him run, and it was almost like a work of art. He became like the wind... never have I seen anyone like that since then. He reached the World Championship, and he won. It was the first gold medal Amestris ever received."

"I don't see why anything would happen to him, then," Edward snapped. He didn't understand. At first, he'd imagined that she would try to put him off joining the State by telling him everything that was wrong with these people. He thought she'd try to intimidate him, tell him what a worthless person the pressure would make him, or something along those lines. But scare tactics? It wasn't like her. She knew he's no coward-- no matter how tough the shit got, he wasn't one of those who ran around crying for their mommy.

"Don't interrupt me," she told him sharply. She knew he was feeling attacked, but she was trying to make a point. "A few months after he came back from the Championship... rumors started popping up that he'd been using steroids to pump up his performance. Drugs. He always denied it, and the Federation always denied it. Nevertheless, he was ordered to take tests. Only two days before the testing was scheduled... he vanished. Nobody has ever seen him since. The general assumption is that he did take drugs and he couldn't take the pressure of people finding out so he went and jumped off a cliff or something."

She looked down at the boys, and saw that Alphonse was looking a little green. Edward's frown had deepened, if that was possible. "I don't believe that is what happened, though. A body was never found. And some weeks later the Federation gave a press conference explaining that they had never endorsed any kind of use of steroids and that while they regretted what had happened with this person, they hoped it would not tarnish the essence of track running. They came out looking like the victim. A bit too squeaky clean if you ask me."

"Wait a second, Sensei," Edward sprang up, looking at her with disbelief on his face. "Are you saying that you think the Federation killed him? Come on, you're making this sound like the Mafia..."

"I'm not saying anything," she replied forcefully. "Just stating the facts. You wanted to know about State-sponsored runners? Well, I'm telling you what I know about them." Edward still looked defiant but sat down anyway.

Alphonse looked up at her looking like he was going to be sick. "Who was he? How come we've never heard of him?"

Their teacher waved her hand. "Oh, it happened before I even met you two. It's been really long, even if you'd known, you wouldn't remember. It's hard, even for me... his name was very unusual... Honuheim? Huanheim?"

"Hohenheim?" The name slipped from Ed's mouth before he could stop himself. It wheezed through clenched teeth like a swear word.

Al's face snapped up, wide-eyed. When he saw recognition in his teacher's face, he had to ask. "What was he like? Can you remember?"

Izumi tried to remember. "Hmmm... Well, he was very tall, had long, blond hair, a beard... He was very handsome, I remember thinking." She felt her husband's dark glare on her back and she turned to see him standing behind on the other side of the window. "But no more than you are, honey! Now go on and continue working! I love you!" she laughed nervously, but it was apparently good enough for Sig. When she looked back at the two teens, she saw that Edward was looking down, with his bangs covering his face, and his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. "What's wrong?"

Alphonse, who was really pale, looked at his brother in concern before answering. "That man, he's our... father."

"The one who left home?" She asked them. Of all the things she expected to hear, this was definitely not one.

"It's just... hard to learn that he is dead after all," Al almost sighed. Izumi had to lean in to hear him.

"Oh, we don't know that, not really. We just know he's gone. For all we know he could be in hiding somewhere..." She rationalized, hoping that it would make them feel less shocked.

"Well that doesn't make it any goddamn better!" Ed exclaimed, and in a flash he was up and walking away, a light growl resounding in his throat. Al called out to him but he didn't listen, and they could only see his back as it grew smaller and smaller, finally dissappearing down a corner.

--

He came back, eventually. However, his teacher was so mad at him for running off like that, that it turned into an insult-fest (yet again). Later on she reluctantly agreed to let them eat dinner before they had to take the midnight train back to Leizenburgh.

They left their bags in the entrance and turned back to look at their teacher, Sig and Mason. "Well, it's been great seeing you all again! You certainly helped us a lot, Sensei!" Ed exclaimed, his voice a _little_ too chirpy. Inside he was shaking; just a _few_ minutes more and they'd be gone, and she never would find out...

"That's great, Edward!" she replied, smiling at them. "So when were you planning on telling me about the accident?"

Al and Ed simultaneously jumped ten feet back and clung to eachother instinctively. She was not smiling anymore; her eyes had narrowed and her face looked fierce. At the same time, it seemed like the night had grown darker-- were the moon not shining anymore?-- and they could clearly see a bright, angry blue aura surrounding the figure of their teacher. "W-what accident?" Al tried to make his voice sound as nonchalant as possible, but of course everyone could see right through it, what with the stutter and all.

"Don't take me for a fool! I'm a runner myself, did you really not expect me to notice that you're limping, Alphonse? Tell me now!" she almost barked back at them, and they jumped back just a little more.

They had no choice but to tell her, then, and hope that the beating they would get didn't hurt _too_ much. They gave her a short version of the story; after all, they didn't want to miss the train. Her response was nothing along the likes of short. "STUPID boys! What the hell were you thinking! I taught you better than that! You can't be that reckless! What kind of athlete goes around looking for an injury! You could've been killed!" and that was just the general gist of it.

Ed and Al took it like men, though. They just looked down and let her rant at them, knowing that it would make her feel better, and they deserved it, anyway. She was right, it had been stupid. They heard her take a deep breath and pause for a moment. "You must've been in a lot of pain, weren't you?"

They both looked up at her, trying to convey how much they regretted their actions. "We're very sorry, Sensei," Alphonse expressed, and Edward nodded. "Yeah, we are."

She sighed and crossed her arms. "Well, there's not much you can do about it now." She walked up to them as Ed picked up both of their bags. "So, are you going to do it?"

Edward was silent for a couple of seconds. Al looked at him, ready to tell him that he understood and respected his decision not to join the State, when he saw the determined gleam in his brother's eyes. "If it was only up to me, perhaps I would consider rejecting the offer," Ed began, looking straight into his teacher's eyes like he didn't have an ounce of doubt in his body. "Perhaps then I would be scared. But I'm not doing this for myself; I'm doing this for my mother, and for my brother. I just have to try this. And I can't be scared, I simply do not have that option." He smirked then. "Besides, if they try to pull anything on me, THEY'RE the ones that should be scared, not me."

The shine was back in Alphonse's eyes as he looked at his brother, his admiration growing by the second. Izumi smiled again, albeit a litle sadly. "Just be careful, ok?" He nodded and she embraced them both as a goodbye, as Mason picked up their bags to take them to the train station.

* * *

**author's notes--**

tadaaaaaaahhhh! 8D

oi, guys, i'm really sorry about taking longer to update (it could be worse, though, believe me-- i have fics that haven't been updated in _years_!). as i told you, inspiration comes and goes and i'm just busier and busier every day. the next chapter will probably come out sooner than this one did, though, since it's one chapter i've been waiting a LONG time to write XD

i hoped you liked this one; izumi's just really hard to write and there were so many plot points in this one that i had to watch my steps carefully so i wouldn't end up with plot holes the size of canada. i JUST finished writing it, so please excuse me if there are any typos or sentences that just don't make sense. i'll come back and edit, i just didn't want to make you guys wait anymore.

oi! i JUST noticed that according to the little timeline i made up for this thing, ed will be 19 by the time he graduates O.o what the heck? that's just weird. please just ignore this... the ages aren't THAT much important anyway.

**reviews, reviews...!**

brickwall: ack! well, that's what i really meant. i'm sorry if it confused you! -- i'll try to be more clear from now on. let's just leave it at that :)

deepcrimsonotaku: oh, thank you! i'm glad you liked it, i'm working really hard to keep it as true to the original story as i can. it's kinda sad that some parts of it can't make it in, though, like for example in this chapter, i very much wanted to find a way to include the whole "month in the island" part. but alas, i just couldn't find one -- so it had to be left out. such a shame, it is sooooo funny. yeah, it's going kind of slow, isn't it? i just need some time to explain things through before ed embarks on his journey-- once edo gets to central, the story will move much faster. and i'm glad you liked al's despair (boy that doesn't sound very nice XS), i felt it was a very important part on his development as a character.

next chapter we're back in leizenburgh! and some new characters are coming in. be sure to keep on reading!


	8. Chapter 7: Not quite the five stages

**Moving Forward**

**author:** carla, aka cali-chan   
**rating:** PG-13, because of some swearing... Can't be helped, since there will be people calling Ed "short" once in a while. Rating might go up to R, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.   
**genre:** AU, romance, a bit drama, really cheap humor XD   
**canon:** manga ONLY!   
**pairings:** EdoWin, RoyAi. Hughes will definitely be gushing about his wife a lot...   
**summary:** AU, chaptered, high-school themed, but not your usual sweet-valley high school fanfic. Edward Elric has to become the best track runner there is, for his mother, for his brother, and for everyone else in his life. But will triumph come at a high cost?

**in this chapter:** winry tries to deal with the fact that she's going to be left behind.

* * *

Chapter 7: Not quite the Five Stages 

Winry wondered why it was that lately she was spending all her Saturdays at school. It was the one day she could actually get some rest, have some fun; but no, she always wound up inside Leizenburgh Secondary all over again. It was quite pathetic, really, for she knew all the reasons she had for coming to school on a Saturday had a common denominator, and it was exactly the one she was trying _not_ to think about.

Feeling depressed all over again, she veered off that topic, choosing to focus instead on opening the door of the School Library. She walked in without so much as a glance around, found a table directly in front of the Librarian's desk, and plopped down on a chair, looking expectantly up at twhere the Librarian should be sitting.

There was no one there, but she could hear sounds so she figured someone might be in the back room. Besides, she knew she would be there; there was nothing this particular Librarian loved more than being surrounded by books-- it was definitely much more than just a job to her. It actually took a while for the woman to come in, and when she did, she was carrying a stack of books so tall that she couldn't see what was in front of her; for that reason, she didn't notice Winry sitting there. She started piling the books on the desk, muttering to herself as she did so, and it wasn't until she reached to find a pencil that she saw the pair of big blue eyes focused on her every move. She had yelped and jumped back before she could stop herself; the pile of books fell, completely out of ordered, and she saw them fell she muttered a loud "Oh Crap!"

She bent to pick up the books and then turned to Winry. "Don't DO that! You scared me half to death!" Schiezka exclaimed, adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose. That was when she noticed that her friend seemed to be getting sadder by the second. "Winry? What's wrong?"

The blond girl seemed to be really interested in her nails; however, her face wasn't looking any brighter. "Nothing."

Schiezka looked back at her, hands on her hips, in disbelief. She knew Winry like the palm of her hand and clearly she had to have some sort of problem.

Schiezka was only a couple of years older than Winry. She'd also attended Leizenburgh Secondary in her time but they didn't really meet until Schiezka got a job as the School Librarian-- one day Winry had come looking for an Anatomy book and they started chatting, and hit it off immediately. From the outside they probably looked like a horribly mismatched pair, what with Winry being pretty and popular and Schiezka being as nerdy as a girl could get. But if you looked deeper you'd see that they really understood each other and it was a great relief for both of them: Winry needed a girl friend after being surrounded by testosterone for so long; and Schiezka had never really had a true friend before, if you didn't count books. They met at exactly the right moment.

Schiezka moved to sit beside Winry as the blonde's attention moved from her nails to an imaginary loose thread in her skirt. "Now, I think we both know that 'Nothing' has a name."

Winry's mouth turned in annoyance that she could be read so easily, but she did not look up. Schiezka sighed. "What did that doofus say to you this time? Whatever it was, I'm sure he didn't mean it, you know he just doesn't think before he speaks..." She knew that whenever Winry came up to her in this state, it was almost certain that it had something to do with a certain blond-haired best friend of hers.

Winry interrupted her with a light shake of her head. "He's leaving," she sentenced in a very quiet tone, looking up at her friend with liquid eyes.

Schiezka frowned. So it did have something to do with Edward. But leaving? Where? She didn't understand. "You mean for the Regionals? Well, yeah, he always travels for competitions, it's not like he doesn't take you with him and Al..."

"No," she shook her head again. "This past week a Recruiter from the Track & Field Federation came to see him run and they're going to sign him up as a State-sponsored runner. He's going to get a chance to run in the World Championship. But he has to go to Central... so he and Al are leaving on July 1st."

Schiezka finally understood. "Oh, Winry, I'm so sorry..."

"No, no, I shouldn't be feeling this way..." Winry said forcefully, as she stood up. There was clearly more to her blues than just sadness. "I feel so wretched; this is the chance of a lifetime! I should be happy for him. And I was! I was so happy! And when they left this morning on the train, I just... it just dawned on me. He's-- they're BOTH leaving. And I'm staying here. I'll be left behind," she said, hugging herself. Her conscience was eating at her; what kind of a friend was she? She should be supportive and here she was, thinking only of herself. But she couldn't help it...

She sighed as she leaned against the Librarian's desk. She'd known the Elrics her whole life; heck, she could easily say there wasn't a day in her life that she hadn't seen Edward. And Al was always trailing behind them ever since he'd learned how to walk. It felt strange, whenever she didn't see them for most of the day-- like today, for example-- so she couldn't even begin to imagine how it would feel not to see them for months. They were the one constant in her life, they were always together... they walked to and from school together, they ate lunch together in the cafeteria, they did their homework together... they had the same friends... gosh, in school they were seen as one unit, people just said "the Elrics" and everyone immediately assumed Winry was included! She just... she just couldn't imagine how it would be to do all those things without them.

Schiezka stood up and tried to comfort her. "Winry, I know how you feel about Ed, and it's going to be hard, but..."

"I don't feel-- I just-- It's not about that!" she exclaimed, blushing heavily against her will. Her sadness had nothing to do with having any kind of _feelings_ for Edward-- it was SO not about _that_...

Or... maybe a little...

Ok, so she'd always thought of Ed as her sort-of unofficial boyfriend. Not that she'd ever thought about him like _that_, you know, like she _like_ liked him-- because she really hadn't-- but it was more that besides her parents and grandmother, he was just the most important person in her life. That was a given. Al was right up there, but there were things that she just couldn't share with Al, whereas Ed was in her same grade and he just knew her since the day she was born, so everything came out natural with him. And, of course, she'd always figured she'd have a real boyfriend some day-- she really wanted to have one, at the very least-- but she just couldn't imagine any other boy being more important to her than Ed was. Wasn't that the definition of a boyfriend, someone you loved more than anyone else? Well, the two of them might not see eye to eye on everything (they certainly argued a lot), but Ed's place in her heart couldn't be taken by anyone else.

Maybe that was it. He was leaving and he was taking a part of her heart with him.

"It's just so unfair!" she huffed as she changed topics, really not wanting to go into feelings and stuff. She just knew that she was being left behind and she was going to be bored and-- and alone and-- with no one to talk to! "He's leaving and I only have, what? A week's notice? He's not going to be here for the Regionals! He's not going to be here for my birthday, he's not going to be here for Graduation, he's not even going to be here for the Festival of the Stars--"

"Well, it's not like you two ever do anything together for the Festival of the Stars," Schiezka rationalized, from her outside POV. Winry had moved past denial, now, and came into the anger stage, she thought clinically. Schiezka could probably be as neutral as possible without having her break down. "Or at least, not without Al--"

"--And I know while he's there he won't think about anything else but training, training, training!" Winry continued her tirade like she hadn't even heard her. "And they'll be jerks and won't even take time to write to me--"

"Well, Ed probably won't, but Al sure will--"

"--And the stupid moron will bust up his leg SO BADLY and I won't even be there to smack some sense into him and we'll all be _miserable_--"

"I'm pretty sure they have lots of great doctors in Central, Winry, especially within the Federation, they take quite good care of their athletes--"

"--And it's not like I can come up to the Recruiter Guy like 'Hi! I'm Winry and I'm not related to Edward at all but I want to go with them!' and just expect them to let me go and feed me and clothe me and put a roof over my head just like that--"

"Winry, you're turning blue..."

"--And why did they have to leave like this? And now!" She kicked the desk hard to convey her frustration and Schiezka jumped up.

"Hey, easy, this is a library after all--"

"It's just..." Winry took a deep breath. She had rambled on for so long, she almost felt like she had run a marathon herself. Her heart was beating a mile per second. She leaned against the desk again. "Maybe... maybe I should've taken more of an interest in running. If I had run like them, maybe I would be going with them right now."

"But you've always wanted to become a doctor, Winry. It's your dream; you can't force yourself to do something you don't like just for someone else," Schiezka stood up from her place, moving towards her. She pushed a blonde lock of hair out of her friend's eyes, and put a hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her. She looked so crestfallen; it just wasn't natural to see her so sad.

"I know..." her voice cracked and she looked down. "You know, maybe I can convince my Granny to let us move to Central. That way I could be closer to them, and I'm sure she'll agree because in Central there must be a lot of cars that need repairs, and her shop will be thriving..."

"She's never going to want to move," Schiezka said carefully. Winry had looked insanely hopeful for a minute there, but she didn't want her to feel better because she was filled with false hope. "She loves Leizenburgh too much. And even if she did agree to move, would you really leave this town and all your friends behind just because you want to be with them?"

"I would," she said, without hesitation. And deep down, Schiezka knew she would. Winry loved those two boys more than anything in the world, except perhaps her grandmother. And if she had a chance to keep her family together, she wouldn't care what she had to sacrifice for that chance. "But you're right," she finally conceded, shaking her head, "Granny will never agree. I'll just have to deal with the fact that they're leaving." She ran a hand through her hair, almost like she was nervous. "Gosh, this is going to be so hard and... different..."

"Come on, Winry," Schiezka tried to comfort her. It really tore her apart to see Winry like this-- the younger girl had always been the stronger of the two. Having her crumble down like this was only making Schiezka herself crumble, too. "You're not like this. Be happy; they're following their dreams and anyway, they'll only be gone for a little while! It's not like they're leaving forever..."

Winry nodded, taking a deep breath. "I know, I know. I'm being stupid." She looked up at Schiezka with all the determination of the world shining in her eyes. "Oh, this is pathetic. Since when did my life start to revolve around those two?"

"It's not that... you'll miss them, that's normal. Just don't let it get you down," Schiezka added.

Winry nodded again. "I won't. I'll just find other things to do. I'll go out, have some fun... I'll even get myself a boyfriend. They won't know what they're missing," she sentenced strongly. Schiezka had to laugh; that was certainly her happy friend coming back.

"I'll tell you what we'll do: I'll go put these books in place and then we can go, buy as much chocolate ice cream as we can find, rent a few movies and go back to my apartment. We'll have a girls' night in."

"Granny and I have to pick the boys up at the station at around three," Winry frowned. A movie night sounded just about right to lift her spirits up and it annoyed her that Ed and Al had to go deflate her mood again.

Schiezka thought about it. "Don't worry, I'll take you there. We can pick them up, drop them off at home and come back to my place. That way your Grandmother can go to bed early without any worries and we can still have our movie night."

"That sounds like a plan," Winry smiled at her. "Thanks for making me feel better, Schiezka," she hugged the older girl as a sign of gratitude. "I think I just really needed to vent out everything I was feeling."

"You don't have to thank me, that's what friends do," Schiezka hugged her back. "Now let's go get that ice cream!"

Winry laughed as Schiezka ran around organizing the books. "Sure! Lead the way!"

* * *

**author's notes!--**

well this was a pretty short and pointless chapter . but it's one i've been wanting to write for a while. Nothing like a hysterical woman when you're trying to do drama and humor at the same time XD

in the next chapter, we'll see the last few days of the elrics at leizenburgh. so it's back to school and you'll see other characters from the series come into play. lol, i'm just having so much fun with this...!

**some replies to the reviews...**

brickwall: let's just agree to disagree, ok? XD but feel free to bug me about anything, i like discussing my writing. there's a lot of the "him" thing again in this chapter, but by now y'all know who i'm referring to XP and yeah, ed did come to a decision, though i didn't really say it but you all knew that's what he was going to decide-- he's going to central. yeah.

lirincandy: a year? oh, that's nothing! i have fanfics that haven't been updated since 2001 #.# and they aren't discontinued or anything, they're just... sitting there... waiting... for inspiration to come by. i'm just a really slow writer, generally XD this one's really the exception, i can't believe i'm writing this fast.

the next one might take a while, people, because you see, my classes are EATING MY LIFE AWAY soooo... yeah, i really need to study right now. so please forgive me if i don't update right away. i'll try my best anyway.

keep reviewing guys! it makes me really happy when you tell me you're liking this fic so far :)


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